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JAMES  A.B.  SCHERER 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


YOUNG  JAPAN 


By  the  Same  Author 

9 
JAPAN  TO-DAY 

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OR,  THE  GROWTH  OF  A  KINGDOM 

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THE   CAMPAIGN   WITH    KUROPATKIN 

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THE  STORY  OF  THE  JAPANESE 
PEOPLE,  AND  ESPECIALLY  OF  THEIR 
EDUCATIONAL  DEVELOPMENT 

BY 

James  A.  B.  Scherer,  Ph.D.,  LL.D. 

President  of  Newbeny  College 
Author  of  "Japan  To-Day,"  "  Four  Princes,"  etc. 


PHILADELPHIA  AND   LONDON 
J.   B.   LIPPINCOTT    COMPANY 

1905 


COPYRIGHT,  1905 
BY  J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 


Published  May,  1905 


EUctrotyped  and  Printed  by 
J.  B.  Lippincotl  Company,  Philadelphia,  U.  S.  A, 


DEDICATED    TO 

PAUL   AEMAND 

AND    HIS    FRIENDS 


PREFACE 


THIS  book,  while  complete  in  itself,  is  also 
designed  as  a  companion  of  "  Japan  To- 
Day."  The  other  work  was  intended  to  be 
a  random  portfolio  of  views,  showing  con- 
temporary life  in  Japan  under  every  ordi- 
nary condition,  and  from  every  attainable 
angle.  The  present  volume  attempts  to  tell 
the  unified  story  of  the  nation  in  the  simplest 
possible  manner.  Occasionally,  in  order  to 
make  this  book  complete,  it  was  necessary 
to  recall  matters  contained  in  the  other,  espe- 
cially in  the  opening  pages. 

The  plan  of  my  undertaking  is  twofold: 
to  tell  the  bare  outline  story  of  the  people  of 
Japan,  and  to  give  a  somewhat  more  detailed 
account  of  their  remarkable  educational  de- 
velopment. The  first  part  of  each  of  the 
three  "  books"  traces  the  evolution  of  the 
nation,  while  the  remainder  tries  to  show  the 
groundwork  from  which  that  process  has 
proceeded. 


6  PREFACE 

The  period  of  early  national  culture  ex- 
tends from  the  first  dim  traditions  of  his- 
tory to  the  introduction  of  Chinese  civiliza- 
tion in  the  sixth  Christian  century,  when 
Japan  put  off  her  swaddling-clothes.  The 
period  of  adolescence  traces  the  growth  of 
the  people  under  the  influence  of  Chinese 
culture  until  that  was  discarded  for  West- 
ern civilization  in  the  middle  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  "  School-days  "  denotes  the 
progress  made  under  this  Occidental  tutor- 
ship. The  whole  book  is  built  on  the  theory 
that  Japan  stands  to-day  at  the  threshold  of 
a  new  national  manhood:  YOUNG  JAPAN. 
The  three  sub-titles  as  applied  to  individual 
development  hardly  need  an  explanation. 

Throughout  five  years  the  writer  was 
closely  associated  with  Japanese  youth,  on 
Japanese  soil,  and  during  four  of  these  years 
was  teacher  in  a  government  school.  That 
experience  supplied  the  chief  material  for  this 
book.  But  I  acknowledge  grateful  obligation 
to  other  writers,  especially  the  following: 

B.  H.  Chamberlain,  Things  Japanese,  etc. ; 
W.  E.  Griffis,  The  Mikado's  Empire,  etc.; 
David  Murray,  The  Story  of  Japan;  F.  L. 
Hawks,  Perry"* s  Expedition;  J.  J.  Rein, 
Japan;  A.  B.  Mitford,  Tales  of  Old  Japan; 


PREFACE  7 

Lafcadio  Hearn,  Japan,  etc.;  Robert  E. 
Lewis,  The  Educational  Conquest  of  the  Far 
East. 

For  recent  educational  information  I  thank 
the  Japanese  Legation  at  Washington  (espe- 
cially Mr.  Eki  Hioki),  and  also  my  friend  Dr. 
Julius  D.  Dreher.  But  my  work  could  not 
have  been  completed  without  the  files  of  the 
Japan  Weekly  Mail.  Other  acknowledgment 
is  made  in  the  text. 

A  note  on  the  pronunciation  of  Japanese 
proper  names  may  not  be  amiss.  In  the  first 
place,  a  word  may  be  easily  divided  into  its 
component  syllables  by  simply  applying  the 
rule  that  wherever  a  vowel  or  the  diphthong 
ai  occurs,  there  is  the  end  of  a  syllable;  for 
every  syllable  in  the  Japanese  language  ends 
either  in  one  of  these  or  with  the  consonant 
n.  Wherever  this  letter  occurs,  it  is  attached 
to  the  preceding  vowel  before  the  syllable  is 
formed.  For  example,  the  name  of  the  great- 
est Japanese  in  all  history,  lyeyasu,  should 
be  hyphenated  thus:  I-ye-ya-su;  and  the 
name  of  the  chief  anthology  of  the  native 
poetry  becomes  Man-yo-shu. 

The  marks  above  this  o  and  u  indicate  that 
the  vowel  sounds  are  prolonged,  having  the 


8  PREFACE 

value  of  o  in  "whole"  and  of  u  in  "rude." 
When  the  vowels  are  not  so  marked,  they 
have  the  following  approximate  values  : 

a  as  in  ah. 
e   "   "   men. 
i    "    "   machine. 
o  "    "    so. 
u  "    "    bush. 


Thus  lyeyasu  becomes  (phonetically)  Ee- 
yeh-yah-suh,  and  Manyoshu  is  pronounced 
Mahn-yoe-shoo,  while  Hokusai,  the  greatest 
of  Japanese  artists,  is  called  Ho-ku-sye. 
Roughly  speaking,  there  is  no  accent,  all  of 
the  syllables  receiving  equal  emphasis,  ex- 
cept when  otherwise  indicated  by  the  marks 
above  the  protracted  vowels. 

The  book  is  offered  as  an  humble  but  honest 
attempt  to   assist   in  the   interpretation  of 
these  marvellous  children  of  the  East  to  their 
modern  schoolmasters  here  in  the  West. 
JAMES  A.  B.  SCHEBEB. 

NEWBEBBY  COLLEGE,  S.  C. 


CONTENTS 


BOOK  I 

EARLY   CULTURE  pAQK 

PART  FIRST 15 

PART  SECOND  ..  43 


BOOK   II 
ADOLESCENCE 

PART  FIRST 55 

PART  SECOND 147 

BOOK   III 
MODERN  SCHOOL-DAYS 

PART  FIRST 183 

PART  SECOND  ..  284 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

Temple  of  the  God  of  Education Frontispiece, 

An  Ancient  Japanese  Amazon 28" 

Deer  Park  at  Nara 60 

Little  Maidens  of  the  Sacred  Dance 72 

An  Ancient  Japanese  Archer 78 

A  Temple  Garden  in  Kyoto 92 

Armor  used  in  "  the  War  of  the  Roses" 94 

An  Artist  at  Work 98 

Learning  to  Write   104 

A  Warrior  Monk  of  Old  Japan 112 

Ear  Mound  of  Hideyoshi 120 

The  Decoration  of  Porcelain 122 

Tomb  of  the  Forty-seven  Ronin  at  Tokyo 132 

lyeyasu's  Tomb  at  NikkS 140 

Cloisonne  Artists  at  Work 154 

A  Holiday  in  an  Iris  Garden 160 

"  The  Sleeping  Cat" 170 

A  Sculptured  Gateway  at  Nikko  172 

The  Great  Castle  at  Nagoya 176 

A  Business  Street  in  Tokyo 282 

A  Primary  School  for  Girls 302 

11 


BOOK  I 

EARLY  CULTURE 


EARLY  CULTURE 

PART  FIRST 


THE  French  have  a  proverb  which  tells  us 
that  "  the  heart  makes  the  age."  And  is  it 
not  true  ?  Do  not  all  of  us  know  some  white- 
haired  woman  whose  face  is  alight  with  the 
glory  of  an  everlasting  youth?  That  is  be- 
cause there  are  no  wrinkles  in  her  heart.  She 
has  kept  it  young,  and  it  has  kept  her  young. 

After  the  same  fashion  it  is  right  to  speak 
of  "  Young  Japan."  Possessed  of  an  an- 
tiquity that  loses  itself  in  the  mists  of  primi- 
tive tradition,  the  nation  is  yet  young,  be- 
cause somehow  the  heart  of  the  people  is 
young.  Japan  is  the  most  youthful  spot  on 
earth.  Nowhere  else  in  all  the  world  do  the 
hoary-haired  go  frequently  a-maying;  no- 
where else  do  grown-up  folk  keep  eternal 
holiday,  even  while  they  labor ;  nowhere  else, 
in  short,  can  one  find  such  an  overgrown 
playground.  The  country  itself  is  a  conti- 
nent done  in  dainty  miniature, — gigantic 
mountains  so  crowded  for  room  that  their 

16 


16  YOUNG  JAPAN 

feet  are  laved  by  the  ocean,  tiny  Niagaras 
roaring  in  constrained  cascades,  and  thou- 
sands of  toy  islets  thrown  in  frolicsome  con- 
fusion, like  so  many  doll-houses,  into  the  rol- 
licking sea.  The  commonest  vehicle  is  a 
grown-up  baby-carriage,  the  far-famed  jin- 
rikisha,  or  * '  pull-man-car ; "  while  the  little 
railway  trains  and  coastwise  steamers  are 
of  a  size  to  their  surroundings.  Laughter 
greets  one  everywhere,  and  sparkling  eyes, 
and  fun, — provided  always  that  we  do  not 
look  beneath  the  surface. 

Geologically  speaking,  Japan  is  possibly 

one  of  the  youngest  of  countries,  thrown  up 

by  volcanic  action  from  the  f  ath- 

Phyiiography.  *  _ 

omless  depths  01  the  sea.  Some 
of  the  deepest  ocean  beds  on  the  surface  of 
the  globe  are  found  sheer  off  her  precipitous 
eastern  coasts,  indicating  terrific  disturb- 
ances in  tunes  of  old,  while  earthquakes  of 
greater  or  less  severity  are  of  daily  occur- 
rence now.  Active  volcanoes  are  frequent  in 
the  mountain  range  that  runs  like  a  backbone 
down  the  narrow  crescent  of  islands,  and 
there  are  many  places  where  the  surface  of 
the  earth  is  so  cracked  and  sulphurous  that 
the  people  call  them  "  Hells."  There  are 
four  large  islands  (Hondo,  Kyushu,  Shikoku, 


EAELY   CULTUEE  17 

and  Yezo),  and  about  four  thousand  smaller 
ones,  all  told;  aggregating  a  total  area  of  a 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  square  miles,  of 
which  only  one-twelfth  is  arable.  That  is  to 
say,  the  size  of  the  empire  (exclusive  of  col- 
onies) is  considerably  less  than  the  State  of 
California,  with  farming  lands  that  could  be 
embraced  almost  within  the  boundaries  of 
Maryland.  The  climate  varies  from  frigid  to 
subtropical,  according  to  the  latitude;  for 
the  tenuous  chain  of  islands  is  over  a  thou- 
sand miles  in  length.  But  the  entire  north- 
western coast  is  notable  for  its  bleakness, 
owing  largely  to  the  absence  of  that  Pacific 
''gulf-stream"  which  warms  the  eastern 
shores,  and  thus  draws  the  burden  of  pop- 
ulation in  that  direction.  The  arable  land 
is  in  a  very  high  state  of  cultivation,  pro- 
ducing opulent  crops  of  rice,  tea,  barley,  mil- 
let, and  beans,  with  smaller  quantities  of  such 
staples  as  cotton  and  tobacco.  Mines  of  coal, 
copper,  antimony,  and  iron,  with  a  little  silver 
and  gold,  are  found  in  certain  localities,  and 
the  entire  surrounding  ocean  is  a  veritable 
Golconda  of  valuable  fishes,  from  the  sperm- 
whale  to  the  trout  and  oyster.  The  flora  of 
the  country,  especially  in  the  south,  is  so  rich 
that  Japan  has  often  been  called  a  land  of 

2 


18  YOUNG  JAPAN 

flowers,  although  the  blossoms  lack  fragrance 
as  the  fruits  lack  flavor.  The  fauna,  however, 
is  somewhat  meagre  except  in  northernmost 
Yezo,  which  is  a  different  geological  type.  In 
the  year  1879  Japan  became  possessed  of  the 
Loochoo  Islands,  lying  away  to  the  south; 
and  as  a  result  of  the  war  with  China  fifteen 
years  later  acquired  Formosa,  not  far  north 
of  the  Philippines,  so  that  Japan  is  our  near- 
est Eastern  neighbor. 

Ancient  Japan  was  peopled  with  an  inter- 
esting race  of  bearded  hunters,  the  Ainu,  who 
have  been  driven  by  their  conquer- 

Ethnology.  -  ...     J  . 

ors  xartner  and  zarther  north  until 
now  the  pitiful  remnant  of  this  vanishing  race 
finds  an  unsteady  foothold  in  remote  Yezo, 
retaining  their  primitive  habits  of  life,  but 
cursed,  like  the  American  Indian,  with  the 
liquors  that  poison  the  streams  of  civilization 
in  Orient  and  Occident  alike.  The  Japanese 
are  assuredly  Mongolians,  but  of  a  distinct 
type  from  their  neighbors  in  China.  Eather 
are  they  kin  to  the  Tatar  rulers  of  China, 
who  in  the  thirteenth  century  overran  the 
Chinese  Empire  and  have  possessed  it  ever 
since.  Ages  ago  these  Japanese  vikings 
sailed  in  their  Tatar  junks  to  the  island 
home  of  the  Ainu,  which  they  promptly  seized 


EAELY   CULTURE  19 

and  eventually  called  "Nihon,"  the  "land  of 
the  rising  sun."  Our  own  word  "  Japan"  is 
a  distortion  of  this  native  name,  coming  to 
us  through  the  Chinese,  who  told  Marco  Polo, 
in  the  thirteenth  century,  the  first  news  that 
Europe  had  of  ' '  Japan. ' ' 

It  is  probable  that  the  first  settlements 
were  made  in  the  South,  by  means  of  two 
main  streams  of  immigration  pouring  in  by 
way  of  Korea.  Dr.  Baelz,  who  is  the  highest 
authority  on  this  subject,  believes  that  these 
two  separate  currents  of  settlement  account 
for  the  two  divergent  types  that  prevail  in 
Japan  at  present.  Among  the  lower  classes, 
who  possibly  represent  the  earlier  immigra- 
tion, one  finds  a  somewhat  swarthy  complex- 
ion, a  compact — almost  stunted — figure,  and 
powerful  development  of  limb.  "Clearer, 
yellowish-white  complexion,  a  slenderer 
figure,  more  symmetry  in  all  parts  of  the 
body,  and  a  slighter  development  of  limb,  are 
notable  characteristics  of  the  second  type," 
dominant  among  the  aristocracy.  Between 
these  two  distinct  extremes  there  exist  a  num- 
ber of  varieties,  but  all  agree  in  being  plainly 
Mongolian.  The  reader  may  dismiss  as  un- 
worthy of  serious  attention  those  sensational 
journalistic  "stories"  that  identify  the 


20  YOUNG  JAPAN 

Japanese  with  the  lost  tribes  of  Israel  or  even 
class  them  as  negroid.  On  the  other  hand,  he 
should  distinguish  them  clearly  from  the 
Chinese.  Besides  marked  physical  differ- 
ences, the  two  races  are  spiritually  diverse. 
The  fundamental  distinction  is  that  between 
esthetics  and  ethics.  The  Japanese  cares 
everything  for  beauty,  the  Chinaman  cares 
very  little  for  it.  But  the  Chinese  are  uni- 
versally allowed  to  be  far  more  trustworthy. 
There  are  bankers  of  prolonged  experience 
in  the  East  who  have  never  known  of  a  de- 
faulting Chinaman ;  but  wof ul  are  their  tales 
of  Japan!  The  key-note  to  the  Japanese 
character  is  sentimentalism ;  that  of  the  Chi- 
nese is  conservatism.  It  is  the  difference 
between  the  Gaul  and  the  Teuton. 

The  distinction  between  the  Japanese  and 

the  Chinese  is  nowhere  seen  more  clearly 

than  in  language  study.    Japanese 

Language.          .  • f          . 

is  a  language  totally  unlike  the 
other,  belonging  to  the  Ural-Altaic  group, 
with  strong  affinities  for  Korean.  In  the 
course  of  time,  however,  proximity  had  its 
effects,  and  the  enterprising  islanders  re- 
ceived from  China  enormous  linguistic  dona- 
tions that  have  lain  on  the  surface  of  Japan- 
ese ever  since  as  cream  on  the  surface  of 


EARLY   CULTUEE  21 

milk.  Chinese  is  infinitely  richer,  and  holds 
itself  above  the  scant  elementary  speech  with 
a  certain  aristocratic  aloofness  that  can  al- 
ways be  easily  distinguished.  This  habit  of 
borrowing  from  others,  indeed,  has  always 
marked  Japan  as  one  of  the  strongest  of 
national  characteristics,  strikingly  exempli- 
fied recently  by  the  wholesale  appropriation 
of  European  civilization,  in  place  of  the  worn- 
out  Oriental  garb  supplied  by  munificent 
China  for  so  many  hundreds  of  years.  Ja- 
pan, deficient  in  original  genius,  has  won- 
derful powers  of  receptivity  and  adaptive- 
ness.  She  has  been  a  sort  of  eclectic  among 
the  nations,  choosing  the  best  that  they  had 
to  bestow,  and  giving  it  an  ingenious  and 
distinctive  twist  that  makes  it  essentially 
"Japanese."  This  is  true  in  art,  letters, 
science,  military  equipment,  and  everything 
else  that  has  made  up  the  civilization  of  the 
country  both  past  and  present.  Unorigina- 
tive  Japan  is  an  imitative  genius. 

But  let  us  hark  back  to  the  babyhood  of 
the  race.  Japanese  mythology  does  not  for 
a  moment  agree  with  the  prosaic  A  Myth  with 
account  that  has  just  been  given  *  Moral, 
of  the  way  that  Japan  came  to  be.  It  teaches 
that  the  beautiful  islands  were  made  by  the 


22  YOUNG  JAPAN 

gods  themselves,  two  of  whom  came  down  to 
live  there,  becoming  the  progenitors  of  the 
present  inhabitants,  who  are  thus  the  true 
"sons  of  heaven. "  The  advent  story  of 
those  divine  progenitors  is  certainly  inter- 
esting, and  is  suggestive  of  many  things. 
Izanagi,  the  god,  and  Izanami,  the  goddess, 
each  took  a  walk  around  the  borders  of  the 
newly  created  realm,  going  in  opposite  direc- 
tions. At  length  they  met.  Instantly  Iza- 
nami exclaimed,  "Oh,  what  a  beautiful 
man!"  But  Izanagi  was  displeased  that  a 
woman  should  precede  him  in  anything,  even 
in  the  matter  of  flattering  speech;  so  this 
literal  lord  of  creation  commanded  that  they 
walk  around  the  island  again  and  that  the 
goddess  keep  silent  upon  their  meeting,  thus 
giving  him  his  divine  right  of  precedence. 
Izanami  meekly  obeyed  him,  and  when  next 
they  met,  she  held  her  nimble  tongue,  while 
her  liege  lord  sluggishly  ejaculated,  "Oh, 
what  a  beautiful  woman ! "  * 

*  Mr.  Hearn  summarizes  the  native  cosmogony  as  fol- 
lows :  In  the  beginning  neither  force  nor  form  was  man- 
ifest; and  the  world  was  a  shapeless  mass  that  floated 
like  a  jelly-fish  upon  water.  Then,  in  some  way,  earth 
and  heaven  became  separated;  dim  gods  appeared  and 
disappeared;  and  at  last  there  came  into  existence  a 


EARLY   CULTURE  23 

This  story  is  unintentionally  suggestive 
of  several  important  conclusions,  which  are 
in  perfect  accord  with  the  facts.  The  Japan- 
ese woman  is  brighter  by  nature  than  the 
average  Japanese  man.  But  the  man,  by 
the  use  of  brute  force,  compels  her  to  give 
way  before  him,  then  speaks  the  woman's 
speech  after  her.  So  Eve  has  her  way  after 
all.  Japan  has  practised  for  ages  the  subjec- 
tion of  woman.  But  there,  as  elsewhere,  the 
truth  is  that  * '  the  hand  that  rocks  the  cradle 
rules  the  world!" 

Reliable  Japanese  history  does  not  begin 
until  during  the  fifth  century  of  the  Christian 
era,  although  native  tradition  fixes  Legendary, 
the  founding  of  the  empire  in  the  History: 
year  600  B.C.  According  to  this  tra- 
dition, the  father  of  his  country  was  the  first 
emperor,  Jimmu,  evidently  a  descendant  of 

male  and  a  female  deity,  who  gave  birth  and  shape  to 
things.  By  this  pair,  Izanagi  and  Izanami,  were  pro- 
duced the  islands  of  Japan,  and  the  generations  of  the 
gods,  and  the  deities  of  the  Sun  and  Moon.  The  de- 
scendants of  these  creating  deities,  and  of  the  gods 
whom  they  brought  into  being,  were  the  8000  (or  80,000) 
myriads  of  gods  worshipped  by  Shinto.  Some  went  to 
dwell  in  the  blue  Plain  of  High  Heaven;  others  re- 
mained on  earth  and  became  the  ancestors  of  the  Japan- 
ese race. 


24  YOUNG  JAPAN 

those  Tatar  tribes  that  had  secured  a  foot- 
hold in  the  southernmost  island  of  Kyushu. 
At  the  head  of  a  host  of  his  kinsmen,  Jimmu 
at  length  crossed  the  Inland  Sea  into  the  main 
island  of  Hondo,  and  his  migratory  hordes, 
as  their  numbers  increased,  pushed  steadily 
on  towards  the  north.  Their  progress  was 
disputed  by  the  Ainu,  but  the  fresh  race  was 
invariably  victorious.  It  appears,  also,  that 
tribes  of  pygmies  were  encountered,  contemp- 
tuously called  "earth-spiders/'  because  their 
homes  were  but  holes  in  the  ground.  Traces 
of  these  primitive  pit-dwellers  are  still  to  be 
found  in  Yezo,  where  they  were  long  ago  ex- 
terminated by  the  Ainu,  when  driven  thither 
by  their  own  conquerors,  the  Japanese.  The 
victorious  Jimmu  is  said  to  have  built  for 
himself  a  palace  in  the  province  of  Yamato, 
and  from  this  circumstance  "Yamato"  is  a 
name  sometimes  employed,  and  especially  in 
poetry,  to  denote  the  whole  empire  of  Japan. 
Yamato-dake,  "the  bravest  in  Yamato,7' 
is  the  name  of  a  great  legendary  hero,  the 
younger  son  of  the  twelfth  em- 

Yamatodake.      J  . 

peror  according  to  the  traditional 
line.  The  first  incident  recorded  of  his  ro- 
mantic career  shows  that  at  an  early  day  the 
principle  of  filialism  had  been  inculcated  aa 


EAELY   CULTURE  25 

a  fundamental  virtue  in  the  consciousness  of 
worthy  Japanese.  Yamato-dake  had  a  slug- 
gish elder  brother,  who  was  negligent  in  his 
attendance  on  his  father 's  imperial  banquets. 
The  Emperor  told  Yamato-dake  to  teach  the 
older  son  his  duty.  Upon  being  asked,  a  few 
days  later,  whether  his  brother  had  been  re- 
proved, Yamato-dake  coolly  answered  that 
he  had  even  slain  him  and  thrown  his  carcass 
to  the  dogs!  Such  was  the  contempt  which 
this  early  Japanese  hero,  the  idol  of  modern 
Japanese  youth,  felt  for  a  man,  albeit  his 
brother,  who  might  be  deficient  in  filialism. 

Another  proof  that  this  great  tenet  of  Con- 
fucian ethics  found  early  development  in 
Japan  lies  in  the  fact  that  when,  Foundations  of 
in  primitive  days,  the  death  of  a  "Morality.- 
prince  occurred,  all  his  retainers  were  buried 
alive  around  him  where  he  lay.  For  filial 
piety  in  Japan  and  China  is  not  limited  to 
one's  parents  by  any  means.  The  doctrine 
is  extended  to  all  who  are  in  authority,  the 
obligation  becoming  the  more  intense  as  the 
authority  ascends,  so  that,  at  the  last,  su- 
preme allegiance  is  due  the  Emperor  as  the 
veritable  *  *  Son  of  heaven. ' ' 

It  is  doubtless  owing  to  this  great  principle 
of  Japanese  "morality"  that  suicide  came 


26  YOUNG  JAPAN 

early  to  be  regarded  as  a  virtue.  When  a 
subject  could  do  nothing  else  for  his  superior, 
he  at  least  could  die  for  him,  and  many  are 
the  deified  heroes  of  hara-kiri,  or  "bowel- 
piercing,"  this  being  in  Oriental  usage  the 
substitute  for  throat-cutting  in  the  West. 

These  ancient  ideals,  which  seem  to  us  so 
utterly  unideal,  are  still  warmly  cherished 
Japanese  by  the  patriotic  youth  of  Japan,  who 
cwvairy.  koast,  that  Yamato-damashii,  or  the 
"Japanese  spirit,"  is  unique,  supreme, 
among  all  the  knightliness  that  the  world  has 
known.  It  is  a  striking  illustration  of  the 
spiritual  diversity  of  mankind  to  know  that 
a  bright  and  alert  race,  who  have  adopted 
our  manners  without  adopting  our  morals, 
can  cherish  a  "chivalry"  which  scorns  wom- 
anhood and  a  "courage"  that  commends  the 
cowardice  of  self-destruction.  But  it  is  even 
so.  When  I  assigned  to  a  class  of  Japanese 
youth,  towards  the  close  of  the  war  with 
China,  an  essay  on  "The  Noblest  Deed  I 
ever  Heard  of,"  nine  out  of  ten  of  them 
selected  the  suicide  of  the  Chinese  admiral 
to  illustrate  the  point  in  question.  Ting, 
when  compelled  to  surrender,  had  committed 
suicide  out  of  a  sense  of  fealty  to  his  mas- 
ter the  Emperor  of  China;  and  this,  for- 


EARLY   CULTURE  27 

sooth,  was  the  noblest  deed  of  which  they 
had  ever  heard ! 

Another  quality  commended  of  the  Japan- 
ese is  that  of  "foxiness."  The  fox,  indeed, 
is  a  sacred  animal,  whose  image  ap-  The  Prlnce 
pears  at  the  door  of  many  a  temple,  and  the 
and  whose  spirit  is  accredited  with 
supernatural  powers  in  possessing  the  spirit 
of  men.  Chief  among  the  heroic  exploits  of 
Yamato-dake,  who  had  such  large  store  of 
Yamato-damashii,  was  the  following.  His 
father,  struck  with  the  boldness  he  had  shown 
in  the  slaying  of  his  brother,  sent  the  young 
prince  south  to  employ  his  wits  and  weapons 
against  two  notorious  outlaws.  The  prince, 
who  was  slender  in  figure  and  of  a  delicate 
beauty,  clothed  himself  in  feminine  garments, 
and,  with  a  sword  concealed  beneath  his 
robes,  danced  so  bewitchingly  before  the  two 
brothers  that  they  invited  the  fair  danseuse 
into  their  private  tent.  There,  when  they 
were  quite  unarmed,  he  drew  his  weapon  and 
ferociously  slew  the  elder  outlaw,  the  other 
attempting  to  escape.  But  Yamato-dake 
thrust  him  through  the  back  with  his  already 
bloody  sword,  and  would  have  withdrawn  it 
to  complete  the  slaying,  had  not  the  outlaw 


28  YOUNG  JAPAN 

begged  him  to  withhold  an  instant  until  he 
could  ask  a  single  question. 

"Who  art  thou?"  he  wonderingly  in- 
quired; and  Yamato-dake  told  him. 

The  dying  outlaw,  when  he  heard  the  name, 
said  that  hitherto  there  had  been  none  so 
brave  as  he  and  his  elder  brother,  "but 
henceforth  thou  shalt  be  praised  as  the 
bravest  in  Yamato!" 

Then  this  gentle  legend  tells  us  that  the 
prince  drew  forth  his  sword  and  "ripped 
open  the  outlaw  as  it  were  a  ripe  melon!" 

The  prince  spent  his  life  in  the  whole- 
souled  service  of  his  father  the  Emperor, 
dying  at  last  while  on  a  military  expedition, 
in  the  thirty-second  year  of  his  age,  saying 
that  his  only  regret  in  dying  was  that  he 
could  no  longer  serve  the  Emperor. 

Notwithstanding  the  Japanese  scorn  for 
women,  one  of  the  greatest  figures  in  Japan- 
A  Japanese  esc  legend  is  that  of  the  Empress 
Amazon.  Jingo.  It  was  she  who,  despising 
her  feeble  consort,  proposed  and  actually  con- 
ducted a  victorious  invasion  of  Korea.  The 
traditional  date  of  this  important  event  is 
fixed  in  the  year  200  A.D.  The  Japanese  have 
never  quite  yielded  the  claim  to  Korea  which 


AN  ANCIENT  JAPANESE  AMAZON. 


EARLY   CULTURE  29 

they  once  based  on  this  alleged  Amazonian 
incursion. 

But  the  chief  importance  of  that  ancient 
invasion  lay  in  the  fact  that  by  this  means 
Japan,  hitherto  isolated,  now  es-  First  contact 
tablished  relations  with  the  Asiatic  with  chlna- 
continent.  From  this  period  dates  the  be- 
ginning of  those  Chinese  influences  that  have 
been  of  such  enormous  consequence  in  the 
development  of  the  Japanese  people.  The 
chief  of  these  early  influences  was  the  im- 
portation of  letters,  which  is  alleged  to  have 
occurred  in  the  year  284  A.D.  Previous  to 
this  time  the  Japanese  were  without  means 
of  recording  historical  events.  It  is  signifi- 
cant that  from  this  time  forward  the  alleged 
ages  of  the  emperors  suddenly  drop  from 
incredible  longevity  to  the  normal  span  of 
human  life,  indicating  that  figures,  which 
" never  lie,"  now  begin  to  take  the  place  of 
fancy. 

Up  to  the  period  of  continental  contact  the 
conditions  of  Japanese  life  seem  to  have  been 
simple  in  the  extreme.  Animal  Early  Japanese 
food  was  used  much  more  freely 
than  has  been  the  case  since  the  coming  of 
Buddhism.  Tea,  which  is  now  so  extensively 
cultivated,  seems  then  to  have  been  unknown. 


30  YOUNG  JAPAN 

Agriculture,  in  fact,  was  of  the  crudest  and 
most  primitive  type.  The  dwellings  were 
frail  oblong  huts,  their  framework  of  sap- 
ling logs  being  held  together  by  twisted 
vines.  Travel  was  chiefly  on  foot,  no  wheeled 
vehicles  being  in  use.  The  implements  of 
warfare  were  spears,  bows  and  arrows,  and 
swords.  Clothing  was  made  from  the  bark 
of  the  mulberry-tree,  now  used  in  the  man- 
ufacture of  paper.  But  when  China  was 
once  tapped,  and  the  rich  wine  of  her  ancient 
civilization  began  to  filter  slowly  into  Japan, 
the  fluid  culture  of  the  Asiatic  continent 
became  strangely  refined  and  rarefied  by  its 
absorption  into  this  fresh  environment.  The 
Japanese  people,  as  has  been  already  re- 
marked, have  the  gift  of  daintily  individual- 
izing all  that  they  get  from  abroad,  and  of 
somehow  refining  it,  so  that  a  peony  becomes 
a  rose.  This,  doubtless,  is  due  to  their  mar- 
vellous esthetic  gifts,  in  respect  of  which  they 
are  chief  among  the  nations  of  the  world. 

Esthetics  and  ancestor-worship  are  the 
foundation  stones  of  the  native  religion  of 
Religion:  Japan, — Shinto,  "the  way  of  the 
shinw.  gods. ' '  Morality,  as  we  understand 
the  word,  has  nothing  to  do  with  Shinto.  Na- 
tive writers,  indeed,  have  denied  that  the 


EARLY   CULTURE  31 

Japanese  have  any  need  for  moral  guidance. 
"In  Japan  there  is  no  necessity  for  any  sys- 
tem of  morals,  as  every  Japanese  acts  aright 
if  he  only  consults  his  own  heart," — on  the 
other  hand,  "morals  were  invented  by  the 
Chinese  because  they  were  an  immoral  peo- 
ple;" these  are  the  literal  words  of  one  of 
the  greatest  disciples  of  Shinto.  Ancestor- 
worship  is  the  great,  the  sole  commandment 
of  the  law.  But  the  esthetic  tastes  of  the  peo- 
ple prompt  them  to  the  poetical  expression  of 
this  worship.  Therefore  the  chosen  sacred 
places  are  spots  of  great  natural  beauty,— 
these  shrewd  folk  realizing  that  nature  builds 
more  noble  monuments  than  man.  Every 
wooded  dell  and  silvery  cascade,  each  limpid 
lake  and  lofty  hill,  is  consecrated  by  a  shrine 
to  the  memory  of  the  reverend  dead.  Far 
from  morality — as  we  understand  it — inher- 
ing in  the  Japanese  conception  of  religion, 
phallicism  was  until  recently  an  integral  part 
of  Shinto. 

Buddhism  was  imported  from  China,  by 
way  of  Korea,  about  the  middle  of  the  sixth 
century  of  the  Christian  era.  With 

'  Buddhism. 

their  customary  intellectual  hospi- 
tality, the  Japanese  accepted  it  with  open 
arms.      And    with    remarkable    plasticity, 


32  YOUNG  JAPAN 

Buddhism  moulded  itself  towards  the  encom- 
passment  of  ShintS,  so  that  now  the  two  cults 
are  often  inextricably  interwoven,  though  the 
Shinto  share  of  the  woof  is  sometimes  ex- 
ceedingly small.  In  the  seventeenth  century, 
Shinto  made  an  effort  to  recover  its  inde- 
pendence, and  even  now,  for  obvious  political 
purposes,  is  the  recognized  "religion"  of  the 
state,  since  it  teaches  the  divinity  of  royalty. 
But  Buddhism,  the  great  religion  of  India, 
is  enormously  more  attractive  of  actual  devo- 
tion than  the  childish  Shinto,  and  wields  a 
powerful  sway  over  the  ignorant  masses  of 
the  Japanese  people  to-day.  It  deifies  the 
forces  of  nature  into  innumerable  gods,  but 
does  not  teach  the  doctrine  of  a  personal  God. 
It  believes  in  the  perpetuation  of  existence 
through  innumerable  and  ever-varying  forms, 
but  teaches  that  our  highest  goal  is  non- 
existence.  It  derives  its  greatest  strength 
from  the  immortal  personality  of  its  illus- 
trious founder,  but  minimizes  the  idea  of 
personality  in  ourselves.  Its  motto  is  knowl- 
edge, but  its  Japanese  devotees  are  confined 
to  the  ignorant  masses.  Yet  it  undoubtedly 
did  much  for  Japan.  '  *  All  education  was  for 
centuries  in  Buddhist  hands.  Buddhism  in- 
troduced art,  introduced  medicine,  moulded 


EARLY   CULTURE  33 

the  folk-lore  of  the  country,  created  its  dra- 
matic poetry,  deeply  influenced  politics  and 
every  sphere  of  social  and  intellectual  activ- 
ity. In  a  word,  Buddhism  was  the  teacher 
under  whose  instruction  the  Japanese  nation 
grew  up. ' '  But  Buddhism  is  fallen  from  its 
high  estate  as  a  teacher.  The  intelligent 
classes  now  treat  religion  with  contemptuous 
indifference,  or  affect  the  unmixed  "moral- 
ity" of  Confucius. 

Confucianism  is  not  a  religion  at  all.  It 
is  a  cold  and  heartless  system  of  "morals." 
Coming  to  Japan  at  a  very  early 

0  r  J  J          Confucianism. 

day  with  other  great  intellectual 
importations  from  China,  it  long  remained 
pervasively  latent.  But  through  the  influence 
of  the  great  Emperor  lyeyasu  it  began  to  dis- 
place Buddhism  as  the  national  preceptor 
early  in  the  seventeenth  century,  and  still 
continues  to  hold  a  large  proportion  of  the 
intelligence  of  Japan  in  at  least  a  nomi- 
nal allegiance.  Its  main  tenet  is  the  doc- 
trine of  filial  piety  applied  to  all  the  rela- 
tionships of  life.  It  despises  the  character 
of  woman,  and  treats  her  as  worse  than  a 
slave. 

As  an  instance  of  the  emphasis  laid  on  the 
doctrine  of  filialism  in  the  training  of  Jap- 

3 


34  YOUNG  JAPAN 

anese  children,  we  may  cite  the  book  called 
the  "Four  and  Twenty  Paragons,"  the 
••The  Four  same  being  the  record  of  two  dozen 
and  Twenty  mythical  heroes  who  are  held  up 
as  models  for  the  emulation  of  all 
worthy  youth.  Of  one  of  these  paragons 
it  is  told  that,  although  his  mother  was  but 
a  stepmother,  and  one  who  treated  him  very 
cruelly  at  that,  yet  his  sense  of  filial  duty 
was  so  great  that  in  winter,  when  the  streams 
were  frozen,  he  would  lie  naked  on  the  ice, 
thereby  melting  a  hole  with  the  warmth  of 
his  body,  so  that  he  might  catch  fish  to  sat- 
isfy the  whims  of  her  appetite.  Another 
would  lie  unclothed  upon  the  floor  at  night, 
without  mosquito  netting,  to  entice  the  blood- 
thirsty insects  from  their  attempts  to  pierce 
the  nets  of  his  parents.  A  third,  and  a  girl 
this  time,  threw  herself  into  a  tiger's  jaws 
to  save  her  father;  while  still  another  para- 
gon, grown  to  manhood,  buried  his  own 
child  alive  in  order  to  have  more  food  to 
support  his  aged  mother.  But  the  chief  of 
all  the  paragons,  perhaps,  was  he  who,  when 
seventy  years  of  age,  wrapped  himself  in 
swaddling-clothes  and  sprawled  upon  the 
floor  in  order  to  delude  his  very  aged  parents 
into  the  happy  belief  that  they  were  still 


EARLY   CULTURE  35 

a  young  married  couple,  and  he  their  infant 
son! 

In  such  fashion  run  the  stories  of  these 
two  dozen  marvellous  paragons.  And  such 
are  the  chief  ideals  instilled  into  the  eager 
minds  of  the  little  Japanese  children.  If 
we  pursue  the  subject  further,  we  find  that 
the  five  relationships  inculcated  by  Confu- 
cianism are  these :  obedience  to  parents,  loy- 
alty to  masters,  concord  between  husband 
and  wife,  harmony  among  brothers,  and  a 
mutual  fidelity  in  our  intercourse  with  others. 
The  Imperial  Rescript  on  Education,  pro- 
mulgated in  1890  and  since  that  time  revered 
as  being  both  holy  and  inspired,  closely  fol- 
lows these  traditional  outlines  of  Confucian- 
ism. Confucius  is  certainly  merciful  to  the 
man  whose  wife  will  not  live  in  concord  with 
him,  for  in  his  " seven  reasons  for  divorce" 
he  includes,  together  with  jealousy  and  dis- 
obedience to  one's  mother-in-law,  the  fault 
of  overmuch  talking! 

Shinto,  Buddhism,  and  the  ethics  of  Con- 
fucius are  the  three  chapters  in  The 
the  religious  primer  of  young  Evolution  of 

,     .,  .       ,    .  ,:    .  Racial  Ideals. 

Japan;    and  this  triune  religious 
influence  very  largely  accounts  for  the  Jap- 
anese nation  to-day.     Mr.  Lafcadio  Hearn, 


36  YOUNG  JAPAN 

whose  last  and  most  notable  work  is  such  a 
startling  compound  of  brilliant  truths  and 
glaring  misstatements,  is  undoubtedly  cor- 
rect— from  one  point  of  view — in  his  funda- 
mental assumption  that  "the  history  of 
Japan  is  really  the  history  of  her  religion." 
But  this  statement  may  be  very  misleading. 
Other  thoughtful  writers  have  gone  so  far  as 
to  say  that  the  Japanese  have  no  religious  in- 
stincts whatever.  The  difference  is  simply  in 
the  point  of  view.  Mr.  Hearn,  an  ardent 
disciple  of  Herbert  Spencer,  means  by  relig- 
ion little  more  than  the  folk-lore  traditions  of 
a  people,  crystallized  at  length  into  a  cult, 
and  modified  by  changing  environment;  but 
the  ordinary  writer  thinks  of  religion  as  a 
comprehensive  system  of  morals.  Shint5 
itself  is  not  so  much  a  cause  as  a  product; 
not  so  much  an  explanation  of  how  the  Japan- 
ese people  came  to  be  what  they  are  morally, 
as  a  simple  witness  of  what  they  were  in  the 
beginning.  There  is  no  system  about  it,  and 
it  has  no  positive  morals.  In  other  words, 
Shinto  is  merely  a  record  of  primitive  race 
characteristics:  the  record  of  a  beauty-lov- 
ing, ancestor-worshipping,  barbaric  tribe  of 
men.  Its  sole  moral  tenet  of  filial  piety  was 
without  doubt  derived  from  Confucius,  and 


EARLY   CULTURE  37 

there  is  reason  to  think  that  even  its  animism 
came  from  the  aboriginal  Ainu.  It  presents 
an  interesting  record  of  the  transition  of 
primitive  men  from  ghost-fear  to  ghost-love 
and  ghost-reverence;  it  reveals  the  gradual 
evolution  of  the  clan  idea  on  the  basis  of  a 
common  ghost-ancestry;  but  it  does  not  ac- 
count for  anything,  because  it  is  not  a  philos- 
ophy, it  is  only  a  history.  Confucianism 
accounts  for  a  great  deal.  It  brought  to 
Japan  her  first  formal  revelation  of  moral 
law.  Its  commandment  to  honor  the  elders 
seemed  a  natural  expansion  of  Shinto,  bring- 
ing the  spirit  of  ancestor-worship  down  from 
the  realm  of  ghosts,  and  making  it  incarnate 
in  the  living.  It  greatly  strength-  The  Religion  of 
ened  the  clan  idea,  because  it  Patriotism. 
taught  that  the  clan-leader  was  to  be  revered 
as  a  father.  Confucianism  grafted  upon 
Shinto  built  up  the  Japanese  state.  The  Em- 
peror, or  strongest  of  the  head  clansmen,  was 
recognized  as  supreme  father  of  all,  and 
therefore  entitled  to  supreme  duty.  But  the 
Shinto  cosmogony  (see  page  22)  recognized 
him  as  the  chief  of  the  divinely  descended, 
who  came  down  from  the  sun;  himself  the 
chief  "son  of  heaven."  Confucianism 
brought  to  this  native  conception  its  positive 


38  YOUNG  JAPAN 

moral  mandate  of  obedience,  concentrating 
all  moral  motives  in  an  acme  of  devotion  to 
this  heaven-descended  father  of  his  people — 
and,  lo ! ' '  a  God  incarnate,  a  race-divinity,  an 
Inca  descended  from  the  Sun."  That  is  the 
Japanese  emperor.  One  can  thus  gain  a 
glimpse  of  the  profound  sources  of  Japanese 
loyalty.  For  untold  generations  all  of  the 
moral  and  religious  ideals  of  this  people  have 
centred  themselves  in  their  emperor.  They 
have  known  no  other  religion  than  patriot- 
ism; their  god  has  been  their  Mikado.  It  is 
little  wonder  that  the  government  desires  the 
perpetuation  of  Shinto,  and  that  the  official 
education  of  the  people  is  based  on  Confucian 
principles.  What  would  happen  should  the 
people  lose  faith  in  their  sun-god?  Japan  is 
trying  a  venturesome  experience  in  her  at- 
tempt to  put  new  wine  into  old  bottles.  The 
all-powerful  clans  that  control  her  present 
destinies  seek  to  strengthen  these  old  bottles 
by  fostering  the  growth  of  pure  Shint5.  A 
result  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  the  number  of 
Shinto  temples  is  increasing  at  the  rate  of 
more  than  eight  hundred  a  year;  the  total 
number  in  1901  being  195,256.  Everything  is 
done  for  the  encouragement  of  Shinto.  Im- 
perial priestesses  preside  at  the  principal 


EARLY   CULTURE  39 

shrines;  soldiers  and  students  are  required 
to  perform  periodical  worship  at  ancestral 
graves;  and  Shinto  priests  alone  are  offi- 
cially sent  to  the  front  with  the  army.  The 
protection  of  innumerable  deities  is  prom- 
ised to  the  faithful  in  every  department  of 
life.  The  carpenter  is  encouraged  to  don  a 
priestly  costume  at  a  certain  stage  of  his 
work,  perform  rites,  chant  invocations,  and 
place  the  house  under  the  protection  of  the 
gods.  The  housekeeper  is  taught  to  invoke 
the  god  of  the  wells,  of  the  cooking-range, 
of  the  cauldron  and  sauce-pan  and  rice-pot. 
The  farmer  is  led  to  the  shrines  of  the  gods 
of  the  gardens,  of  the  fields,  of  the  woods, 
and  the  hills,  and  the  bridges ;  there  is  even 
a  god  of  the  scarecrows!  This  is  really  a 
part  of  the  system  of  ancestor- worship ;  for 
it  is  long-departed  ghosts  that  have  finally 
become  invested  with  divine  honors,  until 
they  are  known  as  the  Kami,  the  "upper 
ones,"  the  divinities.  But  the  imperial  an- 
cestors are  the  gods  of  these  gods,  as  the 
sun  dominates  the  universe.  The  highest 
example  of  typical  Shinto  devotion  is  found 
in  the  ancient  province  of  Izumo,  where  the 
worshipper,  immediately  upon  rising,  per- 
forms his  morning  ablutions;  and  "after 


40  YOUNG  JAPAN 

having  washed  his  face  and  rinsed  his  mouth, 
he  turns  to  the  sun,  claps  his  hands,  and  with 
bowed  head  reverently  utters  the  simple 
greeting:  'Hail  to  Thee  this  day,  August 
One !'  In  thus  adoring  the  sun  he  is  also  ful- 
filling his  duty  as  a  subject, — paying  obei- 
sance to  the  Imperial  Ancestor. ' '  And  that  is 
the  meaning  of  the  blood-red  sun  set  at  the 
centre  of  the  Japanese  flag:  symbol  of  the 
sun-descended  Emperor. 

Shinto,  aided  by  Confucianism,  is  thus  at 
the  heart  of  the  government,  and  is  the  key 
cleanliness  and  to  the  racial  ideals.  Mr.  Hearn 
Beauty.  further  tells  us  that  "the  Japan- 

ese love  of  cleanliness — indicated  by  the  uni- 
versal practice  of  daily  bathing,  and  by  the 
irreproachable  condition  of  their  homes — has 
been  maintained,  and  was  probably  initiated, 
by  their  religion.  Spotless  cleanliness  being 
required  by  the  rites  of  ancestor- worship, — 
in  the  temple,  in  the  person  of  the  officiant, 
and  in  the  home, — this  rule  of  purity  was  nat- 
urally extended  by  degrees  to  all  the  condi- 
tions of  existence."  But  this  again  is  prob- 
ably the  confusion  of  effect  with  cause.  The 
Japanese  by  nature  are  a  beauty-loving  peo- 
ple, true  modern  Greeks;  if  cleanliness  be 
next  to  godliness,  it  is  certainly  of  the  very 


EAELY   CULTURE  41 

essence  of  beauty.  Shinto  is  a  mere  ritual 
of  existence,  the  record  of  the  inherent  char- 
acteristics of  a  race. 

Buddhism,  in  spite  of  its  philosophical  in- 
consistencies, is  a  positive  force  even  greater 
than  Confucianism.  It  has  been  of  in- 
calculable benefit  to  this  irrepressible 
Tatar  race  with  its  fundamental  tenet  of  self- 
repression,  or  self-control;  and  has  greatly 
modified  their  native  Tatar  cruelty  with  its 
doctrine  of  the  sacredness  of  life.  But  its 
chief  influence  has  been  educational.  As  we 
shall  see  later  on,  "Buddhism  brought  the 
whole  of  Chinese  civilization  into  Japan,  and 
thereafter  patiently  modified  and  reshaped  it 
to  Japanese  requirements," — with  the  as- 
sistance of  the  Japanese  themselves.  One  of 
the  chief  historical  features  of  Buddhism  is 
its  marvellous  power  of  adaptiveness  to  en- 
vironment without  loss  of  its  own  essential 
persistency,  so  that  at  the  last  it  is  likely  to 
adapt  its  environment  to  itself, — with  benev- 
olent assimilation,  let  us  say.  This  it  accom- 
plished so  perfectly  in  relation  to  the  nega- 
tive Shinto  that  the  government,  when 
aroused  to  the  political  necessity  of  strength- 
ening the  old  bottles  against  the  fermentation 
of  the  new  foreign  wine,  proceeded  to  the  dis- 


42  YOUNG  JAPAN 

establishment  of  Buddhism  (1871).  It  had 
usurped  the  very  throne,  and  had  gradually 
become  the  state  religion.  From  time  to  tune 
throughout  the  following  pages  we  shall  see 
that  it  had  untold  influence  in  the  culture  of 
Young  Japan. 


EARLY  CULTURE 

PART  SECOND 


JAPANESE  babies  are  invariably  and  invin- 
cibly charming,  except  that  their  parents, 
with  all  of  their  passion  for  cleanli-  Japanese 
ness,  strangely  enough  neglect  the  Babies, 
facial  toilet  of  their  offspring.  Nor  is  it  alto- 
gether true,  as  is  sometimes  said,  that  Japan 
is  "  the  children's  paradise."  If  the  new- 
comer happens  to  be  a  girl,  the  father  is 
likely  to  meet  his  congratulatory  friends  with 
the  exclamation,  "Shakkin  no  tamagoV — a 
punning  phrase  that  means  "  an  egg  of 
debt," — the  idea  being  that  a  girl  baby  is 
only  the  germ  of  enormous  and  useless  ex- 
pense. And,  boy  or  girl,  the  prac- 

.  /  Infanticide. 

tice  of  infanticide  is  not  uncommon. 
Being  restrained  by  no  religious  scruples,  a 
poverty-stricken  parent  will  sometimes  snuff 
out  the  infant  life  rather  than  spare  it  to  a 
future  of  want  and  penury.  The  supreme 
moral  principle  of  filialism,  or  the  duty  of 
the  child  to  the  parent,  tends  conversely  to 
emphasize  in  the  parent's  mind  his  own  su- 

43 


44  YOUNG  JAPAN 

preme  power  over  the  child.  At  the  behest 
of  his  own  filial  duty,  for  example,  the  father 
must  sacrifice  his  paternal  duties  and  affec- 
tions absolutely.  An  instance  is  on  record 
where  an  ignorant  peasant  was  told  by  an 
equally  ignorant  priest  that  if  he  wished  his 
aged  mother's  failing  eyesight  to  be  restored, 
he  must  feed  her  a  human  liver.  The  peas- 
ant was  about  to  sacrifice  his  child  for  this 
purpose,  when  his  wife  interposed 

Wife-Murder.  -,       •    i  -,     -,  ,  i-.pi, 

and  yielded  up  her  own  life,  both 
to  save  her  little  one  and  to  be  at  the  same 
time  faithful  to  the  behests  of  ''piety."  It 
was  not  long  after  this  event  that  I  called 
upon  the  lads  in  the  Japanese  school  to  write 
essays  on  "The  Noblest  Deed  I  ever  Heard 
of. ' '  One  of  them  chose  this  incident  for  his 
theme. 

On  the  whole,  however,  the  lot  of  the  aver- 
age baby  seems  to  be  a  very  happy  one,  and 
certainly  he  appears  so,  playing  in  the  streets 
all  day,  and  having  almost  innumerable  fes- 
tivals planned  apparently  for  his  own  pecu- 
liar delight. 

Ceremony  attends  his  advent  into  the  world 
ceremonies  of  and  accompanies  him  to  the  thresh- 
chiidhood.  01^  Of  maimood.  Japan,  indeed, 
is  the  country  where  nothing  can  be  done 


EARLY   CULTURE  45 

without  ceremony.  And  this  has  been  the 
case  from  immemorial  times.  The  rites  that 
dignify  the  life  of  a  little  Japanese  baby  to- 
day are  possibly  to  a  great  extent  identical 
with  those  that  were  performed  for  Yamato- 
dake  himself.  A  glimpse  into  a  famous 
"handbook  of  etiquette"  will  be  interesting, 
as  illustrating  the  traditional  ceremonial 
treatment  of  childhood.  Very  little  ceremony 
attends  the  giving  of  the  name,  we  are  told, 
which  takes  place  when  the  child  is  a  week 
old,  and  is  consequently  known  as  "the 
congratulations  of  the  seventh  night. ' '  Some 
honored  relative  selects  and  bestows  this 
particular  name,  which  is  only  temporary, 
lasting  through  the  period  of  childhood. 
Another  name  is  afterwards  bestowed  for 
use  in  the  grown-up  world.  But  the  bond 
between  the  child  and  his  naming-sponsor  is 
a  real  one,  so  that  if  the  sponsor  should  at 
some  time  change  his  own  name,  as  is  often 
done  in  Japan,  the  child  must  take  a  new  one 
also.  The  manuals  of  etiquette  further  tell  us 
that  on  the  seventy-fifth  or  hundred  and 
twentieth  day  after  birth,  the  child  leaves 
off  its  baby-clothes,  or  perhaps  "long 
dresses,"  as  we  should  say;  and  the  event 
is  celebrated  as  a  family  holiday.  It  is  also 


46  YOUNG  JAPAN 

on  the  hundred  and  twentieth  day  that  the 
ceremony  of  weaning  occurs,  although  the 
ceremony  often  far  precedes  the  fact.  The 
child,  arrayed  in  his  choicest  garments,  is 
brought  in  and  given  to  the  weaning-sponsor : 
a  man  in  the  case  of  a  boy,  a  woman  in  the 
case  of  a  girl.  The  weaning-sponsor  takes  a 
cup  of  consecrated  rice  and  places  it  on  a 
little  ceremonial  table  that  stands  beside  him. 
Then,  dipping  his  chop-sticks  three  times  in 
the  rice,  he  quietly  inserts  them  in  the  mouth 
of  the  child,  pretending  thus  to  feed  it. 
"  Five  cakes  of  rice-meal  are  also  placed  on 
the  left  of  the  little  table,  and  with  these  he 
again  pretends  to  feed  the  child  three  times. 
When  this  ceremony  is  over,  the  child  is 
handed  back  to  its  nurse,  and  three  winecups 
are  then  produced  on  a  tray.  The  sponsor 
drinks  three  cupfuls,  and  presents  a  cup  to 
the  child.  When  the  child  has  been  caused 
to  pretend  having  drunken  twice,  it  receives 
a  present  from  the  sponsor,  whereupon  it  is 
supposed  to  take  the  third  drink.  Dried  fish 
is  then  brought  in,  and  the  baby,  having  now 
drunk  thrice,  passes  the  cup,  as  it  were,  to 
the  sponsor,  who  proceeds  to  do  likewise. 
The  drinking  is  repeated,  and  the  weaning- 
sponsor  then  receives  a  present  from  the 


EAKLY   CULTURE  47 

child.  A  feast  should  always  be  prepared, 
according  to  the  means  of  the  family." 

Doubtless  the  weaning  of  the  child  receives 
its  ceremonial  significance  from  the  fact  that 
the  child  is  now  supposed  to  begin  its  inde- 
pendent existence,  being  no  longer  just  a 
part  of  the  mother.  This  was  likewise  a  cus- 
tom with  the  ancient  Hebrews,  as  when  one 
reads  of  the  weaning  of  Isaac.  The  Japanese 
child,  however,  is  sometimes  not  actually 
weaned  until  he  is  as  old  as  Ishmael  was  on 
the  occasion  of  the  weaning  of  Isaac.  Now 
and  then  you  may  see  great  lads  of  ten  years 
or  more  taking  their  nourishment  directly 
from  their  mothers. 

When  Kodomo  San,,  or  Mr.  Baby,  reaches 
the  end  of  his  third  year,  his  family  may 
celebrate  the  festival  of  letting  his  hair  begin 
to  grow.  Hitherto  they  may  have  kept  him 
shaven  bald,  but  now  he  is  supposed  to  have 
reached  an  age  when  he  has  a  right  to  his 
hair.  A  sponsor  is  selected,  as  before;  and 
amid  elaborate  ceremony,  including  copious 
drinking  of  wine,  Kodomo  San  is  solemnly 
invested  with  hair.  The  style  in  which  it 
henceforth  grows  varies  with  the  taste  of  the 
parents.  Frequently  a  circular  space  is  kept 
mowed  smooth  on  the  crown  of  the  head, 


48  YOUNG  JAPAN 

leaving  a  bushy  encircling  tonsure  like  that 
of  monks.  Again,  the  hair  is  allowed  to  grow 
only  in  tufts,  from  the  sides  and  the  hack  of 
the  head,  like  handles.  But  there  is  no  limit 
set  to  the  whimsical  mother's  taste  in  this 
matter  of  tonsorial  landscape  gardening. 

When  Kodomo  San  is  four  years  old,  he  is 
invested  with  the  dignity  of  breeches.  "  On 
this  occasion  again  a  sponsor  is  called  in. 
The  child  receives  from  the  sponsor  a  dress 
of  ceremony,  on  which  are  embroidered 
storks  and  tortoises, — emblems  of  longevity; 
with  fir-trees  and  bamboos,  emblematic  re- 
spectively of  steadfastness  and  uprightness 
of  heart.  The  child  is  placed  upright  on  a 
checker-board,  facing  the  auspicious  point  of 
the  compass,  and  invested  with  the  dress  of 
ceremony.  He  also  receives  a  sham  sword 
and  dirk.  The  usual  ceremony  of  drinking 
wine  is  observed."  Thus  another  milestone 
on  the  road  to  manhood  has  been  passed. 

"With  these  formal  ceremonies  of  childhoodr 
jolly  informal  festivals  are  abundantly  inter- 
Festivaiaof  mingled  The  chief  of  them  are 
childhood,  fl^  gjris»  festival  in  March,  and 

that  of  the  boys  in  May.  The  former  is 
called  The  Feast  of  Dolls;  for  on  the  third 
of  March  all  the  doll-shops  in  all  the  cities 


EARLY   CULTURE  49 

are  decked  out  in  such  fashion  as  to  set  the 
little  ones  fairly  agog  with  delight.  The 
Japanese  excel  in  doll-making.  In  Western 
countries  we  rarely  see  any  but  the  cheaper 
grades  of  their  work.  But  in  Japan  one  may 
be  actually  deceived  by  the  marvellous  life- 
likeness  of  these  little  men-images,  taking 
them  to  be  real  children.  Imagine  a  doll- 
festival  day  in  Japan !  All  of  the  toy  shops 
are  filled  with  tiny  models  of  all  sorts  of 
people  and  things,  the  whole  Japanese  world 
in  miniature.  It  is  the  day  of  the  girls* 
rejoicing. 

But  the  country  wears  its  most  picturesque 
aspect  during  the  boys'  festival,  two  months 
later.  The  carp  is  the  chosen  symbol  of  boy- 
hood, because  he  swims  upstream,  against 
all  manner  of  obstacles,  resolved  at  all  cost 
of  endeavor  to  make  his  own  way  in  the 
world.  So  the  people  make  great  toy  carps 
of  paper,  tough  and  fibrous,  with  a  large 
hoop  at  the  mouth,  and  a  much  smaller  hoop 
at  the  tail.  Then  they  hoist  these  great  carps 
to  the  top  of  high  flag-staffs,  one  for  the  roof 
of  each  house  where  boys  are ;  and  the  wind 
goes  in  at  the  mouth  and  fills  out  the  sides 
of  the  fish  to  life-like  proportions,  and  they 
squirm  and  wriggle  and  dart  through  the  air 

4 


50  YOUNG  JAPAN 

for  all  the  world  as  though  the  ocean  were 
above  us.  Doubtless  the  world  does  not  hold 
a  more  picturesque  spectacle  than  Japan  af- 
fords on  the  fifth  day  of  every  fifth  month. 
Moreover,  plenteous  bows  and  arrows  and 
other  warlike  toys  abound  in  all  the  shops, 
so  that  at  this  time  at  least  Japan  is  a  true 
paradise  for  boys. 

Amid  an  atmosphere  of  poetry  and  world- 
old  romance,  hedged  in  by  ceremonial  and 
enlivened  by  frequent  festive  jollity,  taught 
strange  duties  compounded  of  both  good  and 
evil,  right  and  wrong,  the  little  master  of  the 
East  journeys  on  the  way  to  full-orbed  man- 
hood. I  can  recall  him  plainly  now,  as  I  have 
seen  him  many  a  time:  bright-eyed,  rosy 
little  tonsured  monk,  wrapped  in  his  robes 
of  rustling  silk,  borne  on  the  bending  back 
of  a  slightly  older  brother, — I  can  see  him, 
and  I  know  how  to  love  him,  too.  For  if 
there  is  anything  in  all  the  world  more  en- 
gaging, more  appealing,  more  heart-search- 
ing and  compelling  than  the  little  baby  Jap, 
with  all  he  stands  for  and  with  all  he  is,  it 
can  be  only  the  child  we  call  our  own.  A 
touch  of  nature  is  said  to  make  the  whole 
world  kin;  and  surely  it  is  this  world-wide 
human  nature  that  informs  the  following 


EAELY   CULTURE  51 

touching  lines  written  and  dedicated  to  his 
children  by  a  Japanese  provincial  governor 
twelve  hundred  years  ago,— 

"  What  use  to  me  the  gold  and  silver  hoard  ? 
What  use  to  me  the  gems  most  rich  and  rare? 
Brighter  by  far — ay!  bright  beyond  compare — 
The  joys  my  children  to  my  heart  afford !" 


BOOK  II 

ADOLESCENCE 


ADOLESCENCE 

PART  FIRST 


THE  history  of  the  Japanese  people  has 
been  modified  and  even  moulded  by  two  su- 
preme events,  one  occurring  about  the  middle 
of  the  sixth  Christian  century  and  the  other 
in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth.  These  were 
the  importation  of  Chinese  civilization, 
through  Buddhism,  and  the  introduction 
of  Western  civilization,  with  Christianity. 
These  two  events  consequently  determine  the 
divisions  of  this  book.  Having  already  con- 
sidered the  simple  beginnings  of  Japanese 
life,  we  shall  now  concern  ourselves  with  the 
period  of  Chinese  influence,  which  tutored 
Japan's  adolescence;"  and  the  final  chapter 
will  treat  of  maturer  "school-days"  under 
the  tutorship  of  the  nations  of  the  West. 

Chinese  influences  began  to  filter  in,  as  we 
have  seen,  so  long  ago  as  the  third  century,  in 
consequence  probably  of  the  Ko- 

.»  .  ••          -i  Chinese  Culture. 

rean  invasion  under  the  Empress 
Jingo.     But  when  Buddhism  was  imported, 
three  centuries  later,  these  forces  poured  in 
like  a  flood.    Korea  was  again  the  interme- 

65 


56  YOUNG  JAPAN 

diary  channel.  An  ambassador  from  that 
country  presented  the  Japanese  emperors 
with  images  of  the  founder  of  Buddhism, 
Sakya-Muni;  with  copies  of  the  Buddhist 
Bible,  and  even  with  missionary  priests  and 
a  nun.  The  new  faith  was  at  first  bitterly 
opposed,  however,  chiefly  on  the  ground  of 
patriotism, — officers  high  in  the  state  con- 
tending for  the  native  religion  of  Shinto, 
resisting  even  unto  blood  this  missionary 
enterprise  from  Korea.  But  after  forty 
years  of  struggle  for  admission,  Buddhism 
gained  the  ascendency,  and  the  name  of 
Shotoku  Taishi  (A.D.  572-622)  re- 

ShotokuTaishi.  .  ' 

mams  notable  as  the  chief  pro- 
moter of  Japanese  Buddhism.  This  prince, 
who  lived  in  the  reign  of  the  Empress  Suiko, 
was  a  thorough  believer  in  China.  Not  only 
is  he  famous  for  religious  reform,  but  also 
for  great  literary  and  political  innovations. 
Through  his  leadership  the  literary  culture 
of  China  became  henceforth  the  culture  of 
his  own  country,  and  by  him  the  Chinese 
ideas  of  government  were  made  the  basis 
for  a  new  form  of  government  in  Japan. 
Not  only  so,  but  new  arts  and  industries  were 
introduced,  the  calendar  greatly  improved, 
and  the  sciences  fostered.  In  other  words, 


ADOLESCENCE  57 

a  transformation,  almost  as  complete  and 
rapid  as  the  one  we  have  seen  take  place  in 
our  own  day,  occurred  just  thirteen  centuries 
earlier,  when  this  remarkably  volatile  race 
first  felt  the  touch  of  the  ancient  civilization 
of  China.  What  Commodore  Perry  has  been 
to  the  Japan  of  to-day  was  Shotoku  Taishi 
to  the  Japan  of  yesterday.  They  are  her 
two  great  openers  of  gates.  One  let  in  the 
light  of  the  Orient,  by  whose  dim  effulgence 
the  childhood  of  this  race  was  illuminated 
during  thirteen  centuries;  the  other  un- 
barred a  passage  for  the  full-orbed  wester- 
ing sun  when  the  eyesight  of  the  people  could 
bear  it. 

We  must  look  somewhat  carefully  into  the 
nature  of  the  political  changes  brought  about 
by  the  Chinese  illumination,  in  order  to  un- 
derstand the  development  of  that  peculiar 
form  of  government  which  began  with  Sho- 
toku Taishi,  reached  its  climax  a  thousand 
years  later,  and  was  finally  overtoppled  by 
the  guns  of  an  American  frigate.  Until  the 
advent  of  Chinese  influences,  the  government 
of  Japan  had  been  an  imperialism,  pure  and 
simple.  The  Emperor  was  a  real  ruler,  lead- 
ing his  armies  and  directing  his  government 
himself.  "This  era  was  the  golden  age  of 


58  YOUNG  JAPAN 

imperial  power.  He  was  the  true  executive 
of  the  nation,  initiating  and  carrying  out  the 
enterprises  of  peace  or  war. ' '  But  the  adop- 
tion of  Chinese  methods  of  government 
speedily  changed  all  of  this.  The  essence  of 
The  the  change  lies  in  the  Bureau  idea. 

Bureaucracy.  prmce  Shotoku,  under  the  Em- 
press  Suiko,  secured  the  establishment  of  an 
imperial  cabinet,  which  indeed  promised  to 
assist  in  the  duties  of  rulership,  but  in  fact 
eventually  usurped  them.  In  imitation  of 
the  Chinese  custom,  eight  boards,  or  bureaus, 
were  established,  charged  with  the  adminis- 
tration of  war,  justice,  revenue,  education, 
etiquette ;  and,  in  short,  all  of  the  functions 
of  government.  Ranks  were  introduced  at 
the  same  tune,  embracing  twelve  distinctions, 
which  were  shortly  extended  to  nineteen,  and 
bestowed  not  for  individual  talent,  but  upon 
families,  for  hereditary  transmission.  True, 
the  Emperor,  sole  "son  of  heaven,"  remained 
theoretically  absolute,  but  in  the  hands  of 
his  ambitious  ministers,  and  fondled  as  he 
was  by  an  effeminate  court,  he  tended  stead- 
ily towards  a  loss  of  his  power,  and  became 
in  the  end  a  mere  puppet. 

Abdication  was  encouraged  by  the  ascetic 
character  of  Buddhism,  the  rulers  often  re- 


ADOLESCENCE  59 

tiring  into  Buddhistic  monasteries  and  be- 
coming " cloistered  emperors,"  while  an  in- 
fant successor  ascended  the  throne. 

.    .  .  Abdication. 

The  ministers,  taking  care  to  see 
that  he  also  should  become  a  monk  as  soon 
as  he  ceased  to  be  an  infant,  thus  held  all 
the  reins  of  power  continually  in  their  hands, 
and  saw  to  it  that  ''abdication"  became 
shortly  an  unalterable  custom  of  the  state. 
We  have  record  of  one  emperor's  accession 
at  the  age  of  two,  and  his  abdication  two 
years  later.  Another  was  appointed  at  the 
age  of  five,  and  several  at  the  age  of  ten. 
Thus  the  government  became  essentially 
bureaucratic,  the  Emperor  degenerating  into 
a  mere  signet,  so  to  speak,  or  credential  of 
the  families  that  controlled  him. 

The  Fujiwara  family  was  the  first  to  gain 
complete  control  of  the  government,  which 
they  held  for  four  hundred  years  -me  Fujiwara 
,(A.D.  670-1050).  They  were  above  clan- 

all  a  family  of  courtiers,  usurping  all  of  the 
civil  offices,  but  letting  the  camp  alone.  They 
removed  the  capital  from  Nara  to  Kyoto  in 
A.D.  794.*  Under  their  elegant  patronage  the 

*  "  If  the  Japanese  annals  are  to  be  trusted,  Japan 
has  had  no  less  than  sixty  capitals.  This  is  to  be  traced 


60  YOUNG  JAPAN 

court  became  the  centre  of  a  brilliant  but  ef- 
feminate culture, — this  period  being  known  to 
this  day  as  the  golden  age  of  Japanese  classi- 
cal literature.  Very  early  in  the  Fujiwara 
period  were  produced  the  two  great  works 
which  still  remain  as  our  chief  sources  of 
early  Japanese  history, — the  Kojiki,  or 
" Record  of  Antiquities,"  in  the  year  712, 
and  the  Nihongi,  or  "  Japanese  Chronicles," 
in  the  year  720. 

The  classical  period  of  Japanese  literature 
— synchronous  with  the  Fujiwara  regency — 
The  Age  of  deserves  consideration  somewhat 
cia^c  poetry.  in  detail  y^fo  the  f^ojiki  and 

the  Nihongi  rank  as  the  earliest  literary  pro- 
ductions, the  minstrel  had  long  preceded  the 
historian,  as  is  proved  by  the  ancient  verses 
in  which  these  books  abound.  Poetry,  indeed, 
forms  the  earliest  literature  of  every  people, 
for  it  is  the  picture-language  of  childhood. 
Prose,  the  language  of  exact  knowledge,  does 

to  the  fact  that  in  ancient  days  there  was  a  superstitious 
dread  of  any  place  in  which  a  person  had  died.  The 
sons  of  a  dead  man  built  themselves  a  new  house.  Hence, 
too,  the  successor  of  a  dead  Mikado  built  himself  a  new 
capital." — CHAMBERLAIN.  Nara  was  the  first  permanent 
capital,  being  the  imperial  residence  for  seventy-five 
years,  and  throughout  seven  reigns. 


DEER   PARK   AT  NARA. 
The  first  permanent  capital  of  Japan. 


ADOLESCENCE  61 

not  develop  in  the  literature  of  a  race  until 
knowledge  itself  has  developed.  Before  pen 
was  ever  put  to  paper  in  Japan,  poetic  songs 
were  scattered  through  this  poetic  land  like 
the  myriad  vagrant  leaves  of  autumn. 

The  first  collection  of  these  scattered  waifs 
of  song  was  made  about  the  middle  of  the 
eighth  century,  receiving  the  ap-  -The  Myriad 
propriate  title  of  Manyoshu, l '  The  Leaves." 
Garner  of  a  Myriad  Leaves. ' '  Many  antholo- 
gies have  since  been  collected,  but  the  "Myr- 
iad Leaves ' '  may  be  said  to  present  the  chief 
examples  of  Japanese  classical  poetry,  which 
has  more  than  once  been  called  the  one  orig- 
inal product  of  the  Japanese  mind.  Every- 
thing else  in  their  ancient  store  of  culture 
they  borrowed  whole  from  China;  every- 
thing in  this  modern  era  is  adopted  from  the 
West:  only  the  native  poetry  remains  un- 
changed and  unmixed,  the  sole  pure  channel 
for  the  expression  of  the  native  thought. 

Of  a  piece  with  the  antipodal  Japanese 
mind,  it  is  as  unlike  Western  poetry  as  poetry 
well  could  be.  It  has  neither  rhyme  nor  tone, 
accent  nor  quantity,  and  it  even  scorns 
"alliteration's  artful  aid."  The  sole  essen- 
tial rule  of  prosody  in  the  construction  of 
ordinary  Japanese  poetry  is  to  build  each 


62  YOUNG  JAPAN 

stanza  unvaryingly  of  alternate  lines  of  five 
and  seven  syllables  each,  with  an  extra  line 
of  seven  syllables  commonly  marking  the 
close.  The  most  frequent  themes  are  the 
beauties  of  nature,  the  sweetness  of  love,  and 
the  frailty  of  human  life.  Chinese  words  are 
rigidly  avoided.  The  poems  are  usually  ex- 
ceedingly brief,  the  favorite  form  of  metrical 
expression  containing  only  thirty-one  sylla- 
bles. A  specimen  of  typical  Japanese  poetry 
is  found  in  their  miniature  "  national  an- 
them, ' '  which  is  as  follows : 

Kimi  ga  yo  wa, 

Chi-yo  ni  yachi-yo  ni ! — 

Sazareishi  no 
Iwa  wo  to  narite, 
Koke  no  musu  made ! 

This  may  be  freely  translated, — "May  the 
years  of  the  Prince  be  ten  thousand  times 
ten  thousand! — until  the  pebbles  grow  into 
boulders,  and  until  these  become  covered 
with  moss ! ' ' 

One  striking  feature  of  these  Lilliputian 
odes  is  their  elliptical  terseness  of  style. 
The  hokku  is  a  form  of  verse  containing 
only  seventeen  syllables,  as  the  following 
example  shows : 


ADOLESCENCE  63 

Asagao  ni 

Tsurube  torarete, 
Morai-mizu ! 


A  literal  translation  of  these  words  utterly 
fails  to  convey  the  dainty  poesy  of  the  orig- 
inal,— "The  well-bucket  having  been  seized 
by  a  morning-glory, — gift-water ! "  In  order 
to  understand  this  little  poem,  one  needs  to 
be  informed  that  a  poetess,  on  going  one 
morning  to  the  well,  found  that  a  morning- 
glory  had  twined  itself  around  the  rope ;  and, 
rather  than  disturb  the  clinging  tendrils,  she 
went  and  begged  water  of  a  neighbor. 

One  of  -the  prettiest  customs  of  Japanese 
etiquette  is  to  speed  a  parting  guest  with 
kindly  wishes  fashioned  into  this  ancient  clas- 
sic form  of  dainty  verse.  At  the  so-betsu- 
kwaij  or  farewell  meeting,  friends  will  arise 
and  chant  original  verses,  which  often  have  a 
distinctly  poetical  flavor.  Frequently,  how- 
ever, this  flavor  is  utterly  lost  when  the  poem 
is  turned  into  English.  An  amusing  story  is 
told  which  aptly  illustrates  this  point.  A  cer- 
tain elderly  Englishwoman  had  so  endeared 
herself  to  the  Japanese  court  during  her  resi- 
dence at  the  British  legation  that  the  Em- 
press herself  deigned  to  honor  her  with  a 


64  YOUNG  JAPAN 

poem  of  parting  as  the  gray-haired  lady  re- 
turned to  her  Western  home.  The  verse  was 
an  exquisite  type  of  its  class ;  but  in  our  mat- 
ter-of-fact English  prose  the  parting  lament 
became:  "Westward  the  gray  goose  takes 
her  flight!"  Needless  to  say,  the  word 
* '  goose ' '  has  no  such  unhappy  connotation  in 
Japanese  as  in  English,  nor  does  Oriental 
usage  esteem  gray  hairs  as  other  than  a 
crown  of  glory;  so  that,  robbed  of  its  awk- 
ward Occidental  suggestiveness,  the  verse  be- 
comes a  pretty  conceit,  and  should  doubtless 
be  associated  with  Bryant's  noble  lines  "To 
a  Waterfowl." 

Chief  of  all  the  poets  of  Japan  was  Hito- 
maro  (with  the  given  name  Kaki-no-moto), 
The  Poet  many  of  whose  songs  are  found 
mtomaro.  among  the  *  *  Myriad  Leaves. "  He  is 
supposed  to  have  died  in  the  year  737  A.D. 
He  was  originally  of  lowly  rank,  and  legend 
has  built  up  a  pretty  myth  around  his  given 
name,  which  literally  means  "under  the  per- 
simmon-tree." We  are  told  that  a  warrior, 
going  one  day  into  his  garden,  found  stand- 
ing in  the  shade  of  his  favorite  fruit-tree  a 
child  of  more  than  mortal  splendor,  who, 
when  asked  his  name,  replied :  ' '  Father  and 
mother  have  I  none;  but  the  moon  and  the 


ADOLESCENCE  65 

winds  obey  me,  and  my  delight  is  poesy.'1 
The  warrior's  wife  being  equally  charmed 
with  this  little  child  of  the  muse,  they  adopted 
him  into  their  noble  home,  commemorating  his 
origin  in  the  name  they  gave  him.  The  legend 
also  tells  us  that  near  the  poet's  grave  there 
grows  a  great  persimmon-tree  whose  fruit  is 
pointed  and  black  at  the  end,  resembling  a 
Japanese  pen  in  form  and  color. 

Hitomaro's  only  rival  was  his  contempo- 
rary, Akahito,  whose  compositions  are  also 
preserved  in  "The  Garner  of  a 

Akahito. 

Myriad  Leaves."  One  of  the  pret- 
tiest songs  in  Japanese  poetry — according  to 
Western  canons  of  taste,  at  least — is  one  that 
he  composed  when  ascending  Mount  Mikasa, 
near  the  ancient  capital  of  Nara.  It  is  here 
given  in  Professor  Chamberlain's  transla- 
tion: 

Oft  in  the  misty  spring 
The  vapors  roll  o'er  Mount  Mikasa's  crest, 

While,  pausing  not  to  rest, 
The  birds  each  morn  with  plaintive  note  do  sing. 

Like  to  the  mists  of  spring 
My  heart  is  rent;   for,  like  the  song  of  birds, 

Still  all  unanswered  ring 
The  tender  accents  of  my  passionate  words. 
5 


66  YOUNG  JAPAN 

I  call  her  ev'ry  day 
Till  daylight  fades  away; 
I  call  her  ev'ry  night 
Till  dawn  restores  the  light; — 
But  my  fond  pray'rs  are  all  too  weak  to  bring 
My  darling  back  to  sight. 

In  addition  to  the  "Myriad  Leaves, "  one 
other  great  anthology  has  been  preserved  to 
-The  oid  and  us  from  the  period  of  classical 
the  New.-  poetry.  It  is  called  the  Kokin- 
shu,  or  "The  Garner  of  the  Old  and  the 
New,"  and  was  compiled  in  the  year  905, 
chiefly  by  the  great  author  Tsurayuki.  It 
contains  many  thousands  of  the  thirty-one 
syllable  stanzas  that  have  been  already  de- 
scribed, a  pretty  example  consisting  in  the 
following  lines  on  "Spring": 

Amid  the  branches  of  the  silvery  bowers 

The  nightingale  doth  sing:  perchance  he  knows 
That  spring  hath  come,  and  takes  the  later  snows 

For  the  white  petals  of  the  plum's  sweet  flowers. 

In  his  elegant  introduction  to  the  Kokin- 
shu,  Tsurayuki  became  the  father  of  Japan- 

TheAgeof  6Se  Prose>  an^  remains  one  of  its 
classic  prose:  most  illustrious  exemplars.  Up 
to  his  day,  all  prose  compositions 
had  been  written  in  stilted  Chinese.  Not- 
withstanding his  connection  with  the  court, 


ADOLESCENCE  67 

he  broke  with  the  slavish  tendencies  of  the 
times,  and  established  a  native  prose  litera- 
ture. His  most  famous  work  is  the  Tosa 
Nikki,  this  being  a  diary  (nikki)  which  de- 
scribes a  voyage  he  once  made  from  his  na- 
tive province  of  Tosa  to  the  capital  city, 
Kyoto.  This  is  the  "best  extant  embodi- 
ment of  uncontaminated  Japanese  speech." 
It  led  the  way  for  a  large  number  of  excel- 
lent prose  works,  consisting  chiefly  in  mono- 
gatari,  or  tales.  Perhaps  the  most  famous  of 
these  is  the  "Tale  of  a  Bamboo- 
Cutter,'*  narrating  the  adventures 
of  a  maiden  from  the  moon  who  sojourned 
on  the  earth  for  a  season.  The  book  is  so 
named  because  the  bamboo-cutter  is  said  to 
have  found  the  Moon-Maiden  ensconced  in  a 
section  of  bamboo,  where  she  lay  sparkling 
like  gold.  But  the  prose  literature  of  the 
Japanese,  all  things  considered,  reached  its 
fullest  and  richest  development  in  the  Genji 
Mono-gatari,  or  "The  Tale  of  Prince  Genji," 
and  the  Mdkura  no  SosM,  or  "Pillow  Book," 
both  of  which  were  written  at  the  beginning 
of  the  eleventh  century  by  two  noble  ladies  of 
the  court.  We  are  told  that  the  Genji  ro- 
mance leads  all  works  in  Japanese  literature 
in  the  fluency  and  grace  of  its  diction,  while 


68  YOUNG  JAPAN 

the  Pillow  Book  is  matchless  for  general  ar- 
tistic excellence.  The  quotation  from  the  lat- 
ter which  is  here  given  (in  Mr.  Aston 's  trans- 
lation) is  remarkable  as  a  graphic  bit  of 
description.  The  author  is  Madame  Sei  Sho- 
nagon,  of  imperial  blood,  and  for  some  time  a 
lady-in-waiting  to  her  empress.  When  her 
mistress  died,  in  the  year  1000,  she  entered 
a  Buddhist  convent,  where  this  remarkable 
"Pillow  Book"  was  composed.  In  the  fol- 
lowing selection  she  imagines  herself  back  at 
the  palace,  watching  through  the  "grated 
windows"  a  group  of  rustic  visitors  in  the 
yard  below : 

"What  fun  to  watch  the  farmers'  wives  and 
daughters,  arrayed  in  all  their  hoarded  finery, 
A  woman  and  riding  in  their  wagons  (made 
clean  for  the  occasion),  as  they  come 
to  see  the  races  in  the  court-yard  of  the  pal- 
ace !  .  .  .  How  prim  and  proper  they  appear, 
all  unconscious  of  the  shock  their  dignity  will 
get  when  the  wagon  jolts  across  the  huge 
beam  at  the  bottom  of  the  gate,  and  knocks 
their  pretty  heads  together,  disarranging 
their  hair,  and  worse  still,  mayhap  breaking 
their  combs!  But  that  is  after  all  a  trifle 
when  compared  to  their  alarm  if  a  horse  so 
much  as  neighs.  On  this  account  the  gallants 


ADOLESCENCE  69 

of  the  court  amuse  themselves  by  slyly  goad- 
ing the  horses  with  spear  and  arrow-point,  to 
make  them  rear  and  plunge  and  frighten  the 
wenches  home  in  fear  and  trembling.  How 
silly  too  the  men-at-arms  appear,  their  foolish 
faces  painted  with  dabs  here  and  there  upon 
their  swarthy  cheeks,  like  patches  of  snow 
left  on  a  hillside  from  a  thaw ! ' ' 

The  contemporary  authoress,  Madame  Mu- 
rasaki,  gives  sage  advice  to  her  sex  in  the 
Romance  of  Prince  Genji : 

"Women  there  are,"  she  informs  us,  "who 
are  too  self-confident  and  obtrusive.  These, 
if  they  do  but  discover  some  slight  inconsist- 
ency in  men,  fiercely  betray  their  indignation 
and  behave  with  arrogance.  A  man  may  show 
a  little  inconsistency  occasionally,  but  still  his 
affection  may  remain ;  then  matters  A  Woman,B 
will  in  time  become  right  again,  and  opinion  of 
they  will  pass  their  lives  happily 
together.  If  therefore  the  woman  cannot 
show  a  tolerable  amount  of  patience,  this  will 
but  add  to  her  unhappiness.  She  should, 
above  all  things,  strive  not  to  give  way  to  ex- 
citement ;  and  when  she  experiences  any  un- 
pleasantness, she  should  speak  of  it  frankly, 
but  with  moderation.  And  if  there  should 
be  anything  worse  than  unpleasantness,  she 


70  YOUNG  JAPAN 

should  even  then  complain  of  it  in  such  a  way 
as  not  to  irritate  the  man.  If  she  guides  her 
conduct  on  principles  such  as  these,  even  her 
very  words,  her  very  demeanor,  may  in  all 
probability  increase  his  sympathy  and  con- 
sideration for  her." 

The  Fujiwara  and  the  Tokugawa  periods 
alone  were  anywise  notable  in  literature. 
That  is  to  say,  from  the  twelfth  to  the  seven- 
teenth century  one  finds  a  prolonged  barren 
period,  and  that  for  a  very  good  reason :  war 
is  not  conducive  to  letters.  The  Fujiwara  and 
the  Tokugawa  regencies  were  eras  of  peace ; 
therefore  they  were  eras  of  literature. 
The  Decline  With  the  rise  of  the  military  power 
of  Letters.  letters  decayed,  but  we  shall  wit- 
ness a  classic  revival  under  lyeyasu,  the 
greatest  of  the  Shoguns.  If  we  except  the 
so-called  "Dance  Songs,"  only  two  notable 
productions  saw  the  light  in  the  prolonged  in- 
tervening period:  the  Hojoki,  or  "Hermit's 
Diary,"  written  about  the  year  1200  by  a  dis- 
appointed Buddhist  monk;  and  the  Tsure- 
zure-Gusa,  or  "^eeds  of  Idleness,"  com- 
posed by  another  monk  a  century  and  a  half 
later.  This  latter  work  is  really  important, 
especially  because  of  its  happy  adaptation  of 
Chinese  words  to  the  forms  of  the  native  Ian- 


ADOLESCENCE  71 

guage,  thus  welding  the  two  tongues  into  a 
union  that  makes  the  speech  of  modern 
Japan.  The  author  was  Yoshida  Kenko,  and 
he  composed  his  volume  of  short  essays 
about  the  year  1345. 

Allusion  has  been  made  to  the  "Dance 
Songs"  (No  no  Utai)  as  a  product  of  the 
otherwise  barren  age  of  Japanese  literature. 
The  Japanese  dance  is  of  ancient  religious 
origin,  and  is  really  a  series  of  very  slow 
and  very  graceful  posings.  Anciently  these 
movements  were  executed  to  the  accompani- 
ment of  rude  choric  songs,  but  early  in  the 
fifteenth  century  certain  highly  cultivated 
Buddhist  priests  developed  the  No  into  a 
veritable  drama,  which  bore  a  striking  re- 
semblance to  the  drama  of  the  an-  The  Ancient 
cient  Greeks.  Professor  Chamber-  Drama, 
lain  informs  us  that  "there  was  the  same 
chorus,  the  same  stately  demeanor  of  the 
actors,  who  were  often  masked;  there  was 
the  same  sitting  in  the  open  air,  there  was 
the  same  quasi-religious  strain  pervading 

the  whole."    In  his  opinion,  some  of  these 

\ 
lyrical  dramas — all  of  wnich  are  anonymous 

— rank  with  the  cleverest  productions  of  the 
prolific  Japanese  pen.  His  able  work  on 
"The  Classical  Poetry  of  the  Japanese"  con- 


72  YOUNG  JAPAN 

tains  several  interesting  specimens,  of  which 
the  most  beautiful  is  entitled  "The  Kobe  of 
Feathers. ' '  A  fisherman,  landing  on  the  pine- 
clad  shore  near  the  base  of  the  peerless 
Mount  Fuji,  hears  strains  of  heavenly  music, 
while  a  more  than  earthly  fragrance  fills  the 
air.  Looking  in  wonder  about  him,  he  dis- 
cerns a  beauteous  robe  of  iridescent  feath- 
ers suspended  from  the  branches  of  a  pine- 
tree.  Seizing  it  in  his  hands,  he  is  about  to 
carry  the  priceless  treasure  home  with  him, 
when  a  lovely  Moon-Fairy  appears  to  claim 
it  as  her  own.  But  the  fisherman  denies  her, 
and  despair  fills  her  breast  because  without 
her  robe  of  feathers  she  can  never  go  soar- 
ing through  the  realms  of  air, — nevermore 
return  to  her  celestial  home.  At  length,  how- 
ever, the  fisherman  promises  to  restore  the 
robe  if  then  and  there  the  Moon-Maiden  shall 
dance  for  him  one  of  those  far-famed  fairy 
dances  that  gladden  the  hearts  of  the  thirty 
happy  kings  in  the  palace  of  the  silvery  moon. 
Rejoiced,  the  maiden  dons  her  rainbow  robe, 
and  not  only  dances,  but 

"  The  fairy  sings,  and  from  the  cloudy  spheres, 

Chiming  in  unison,  the  angels'  lutes, 

Tabrets,  and  cymbals,  and  sweet  silv'ry  flutes, 

Ring  through  the  heav'n  that  glows  with  purple  hues." 


ADOLESCENCE  73 

At  the  last  the  ravished  chorus  shouts : 

"  Dance  on,  sweet  maiden,  through  the  happy  hours ! 

Dance  on,  sweet  maiden,  while  the  magic  flow'rs 

Crowning  thy  tresses  flutter  in  the  wind 

Rais'd  by  thy  waving  pinions  intertwined! 

Dance  on !  for  ne'er  to  mortal  dance  'tis  giv'n 

To  vie  with  that  sweet  dance  thou  bring'st  from  heav'n : 

And  when,  cloud-soaring,  thou  shalt  all  too  soon 

Homeward  return  to  the  full-shining  moon, 

Then  hear  -our  pray'rs,  and  from  thy  bounteous  hand 

Pour  sev'nfold  treasures  on  our  happy  land; 

Bless  every  coast,  refresh  each  panting  field, 

That  earth  may  still  her  proper  increase  yield ! 

But,  ah !  the  hour,  the  hour  of  parting  rings ! 
Caught  by  the  breeze,  the  fairy's  magic  wings 
Heav'nward  do  bear  her  from  the  pine-clad  shore, 
Past  Uki-shima's  widely-stretching  moor, 
Past  Ashi-daka's  heights,  and  where  are  spread 
Th'  eternal  snows  on  Fuji-yama's  head, — 
Higher  and  higher  to  the  azure  skies, 
Till  wand'ring  vapors  hide  her  from  our  eyes!" 

The  indifference  of  the  literary  Fujiwara 
clan  to  the  affairs  of  the  camp  proved  to 
be  the  means  of  their  undoing. 
They  had  been  quite  content  to 
leave  all  of  the  military  glory  of  the  empire 
to  those  dominant  martial  families,  the  Taira 
and  the  Minamoto,  while  they  themselves  mo- 
nopolized the  statecraft.  This  was  well 


74  YOUNG  JAPAN 

enough  so  long  as  the  Taira  and  the  Mina- 
moto  were  subduing  rebellions  in  the  fre- 
quently turbulent  provinces;  but  the  time 
came  when  there  were  no  longer  any  rebel- 
lions to  subdue,  and  the  two  aggressive  clans 
straightway  acquired  a  fondness  for  dallying 
with  the  statecraft  also.  The  result  was  a 
foregone  conclusion.  The  Fujiwara  family, 
enfeebled  by  the  same  effeminate  environ- 
ment with  which  they  had  surrounded  the 
Emperor,  succumbed  to  these  militant  ag- 
gressors; and  to  the  Bureaucratic  govern- 
ment was  consequently  added  the  important 
feature  of  Militarism. 

It  was  militarism  in  deadly  earnest  from 

the  first.    For  the  two  great  clans,  who  had 

fought  side  by  side  in  unity  against 

Feudalism.  J  J      & 

a  common  foe,  now  took  to  fight- 
ing each  other.  The  prize  of  their  warfare 
was  the  person  of  the  Emperor ;  even  as  with 
the  queen  of  a  hive  of  bees,  so  in  ancient 
Japanese  society  the  possession  of  the  im- 
perial person  meant  to  hold  the  sceptre  of 
the  whole  situation.  The  vast  forces  of  the 
two  conflicting  hosts  were  so  evenly  balanced 
that  their  strife  lasted  more  than  a  century 
(A.D.  1050-1185).  Its  most  important  effect 
on  the  development  of  Japanese  history  was 


ADOLESCENCE  75 

that  it  made  Feudalism  a  permanent  national 
institution.  "Japan  was  now  converted  into 
a  camp;  her  institutions  were  feudalized. 
The  real  master  of  the  empire  was  he  who, 
strongest  with  his  sword  and  bow,  and  head- 
ing the  most  numerous  host,  could  partition 
out  the  land  among  the  chief  barons,  his  re- 
tainers." For  a  hundred  years  and  more  the 
issue  of  the  struggle  was  uncertain.  Then 
the  war  ended  in  the  triumph  of  the  Mina- 
moto  family;  but  for  seven  hundred  years 
after  its  close  its  effects  were  all-powerful  in 
Japanese  history  through  the  dominance  of 
that  principle  of  militarism  in  government 
which  this  war  had  so  firmly  established.  In 
short,  the  significance  of  this  great  civil  war 
consists  in  the  addition  to  a  bureaucratic  gov- 
ernment of  the  military  power,  and  the  sum 
of  these  two  factors  is  Feudalism. 

The  Minamoto  won  their  final  victory  un- 
der the  leadership  of  two  valorous  brothers. 
The  younger  of  these,  Yoshitsune 

0  7  Yoshitsune. 

by  name,  has  been  called  the  Bayard 
of  Japan.  Son  of  a  great  Minamoto  chief- 
tain, he  was  left  fatherless  at  a  very  tender 
age, — one  of  the  most  popular  of  modern 
Japanese  pictures  representing  Yoshitsune 
as  a  babe  in  arms,  his  outcast  mother  trudg- 


76  YOUNG  JAPAN 

ing  through  the  pitiless  snow,  followed  by 
his  elder  brother  and  another  child,  seeking 
in  vain  for  safe  shelter.  We  may  take  time 
to  observe  that  this  widowed  mother  is 
almost  deified  by  the  moral  teachers  of 
the  Japanese  nation  for  having  sacrificed 
her  honor  to  secure  the  release  of  her 
own  aged  mother  from  prison.  That  is  to 
say,  she  achieved  her  filial  "duty"  by  the 
surrender  of  her  virtue  at  the  behest  of  the 
Taira  tyrant,  wherefore  she  is  still  belauded 
as  an  exalted  moral  example.  The  hostile 
chieftain  spared  the  lives  of  her  children,  but 
endeavored  to  cloister  them  in  convents,  so 
that  they  would  be  out  of  his  way.  But  Yo- 
shitsune,  like  Emerson,  would  not  be  a  priest. 
The  pious  Buddhist  friars  to  whose  care  he 
had  been  committed  were  scandalized  by  his 
boisterous  pranks,  and  called  him,  in  horror, 
"the  young  ox.*'  They  were  vastly  relieved 
when  at  length  he  ran  away  with  an  iron- 
monger, whose  life  he  straightway  saved  by 
exploits  of  the  most  heroic  order.  Destiny 
ordained  that  he  should  be  reared  to  man- 
hood in  the  family  of  a  Fujiwara  nobleman, 
under  whose  tutorship  he  developed  unusual 
military  ability,  together  with  a  high  sense 
of  chivalry.  Meanwhile,  the  elder  brother 


ADOLESCENCE  77 

had  become  the  leader  of  the  Minamoto  hosts, 
and  the  youthful  Bayard  laid  his  splendid 
services  freely  at  his  feet.  It  was  due  to  his 
prowess  that  the  decisive  battle  was  won,  in 
the  straits  of  Shimonoseki,  in  the  year  A.D. 
1185.  But  the  elder  brother  became  jealous 
of  Yoshitsune's  fame,  as  Saul  was  jealous 
of  the  loyal  David ;  and,  in  spite  of  an  appeal 
filled  with  the  most  touching  and  chivalrous 
eloquence,  he  was  outlawed,  a  price  was  set 
upon  his  head,  and  he  disappeared  as  a 
ruined  fugitive  whose  end  is  shrouded  in  mys- 
tery. The  Ainu  in  Yezo  revere  his  name  to 
this  day  as  that  of  a  demigod,  so  that  many 
think  that  he  spent  his  last  days  among  them. 
His  brother  had  power  to  end  his  career,  but 
not  to  impair  his  future  fame.  He  remains 
one  of  the  chief  of  the  Japanese  national 
heroes,  the  final  touch  of  romance  being 
added  to  his  story  by  the  cruel  injustice 
that  caused  his  light  to  go  out  in  dark- 
ness. 

The  decisive  battle  that  Yoshitsune  won 
for  his  brother  in  the  Shimonoseki  Straits 
(1185)  is  the  greatest  naval  vie-  The  Minamoto 
tory  in  the  annals  of  Japanese  victory. 

warfare.  Yoshitsune  had  so  pressed  the 
Taira  foe  that  he  literally  forced  them  to 


78  YOUNG  JAPAN 

take  water.  Having  besieged  and  burned  the 
two  great  castles  that  constituted  their  final 
foothold,  he  drove  the  entire  clan — men, 
women,  and  children,  with  the  infant  Em- 
peror in  their  midst — to  flee  for  safety  to 
their  fleet  of  five  hundred  vessels.  Then, 
hastily  collecting  seven  hundred  vessels  of 
his  own,  he  crowded  them  with  fighting-men 
and  hurried  on  to  the  fray.  Every  soul  on 
either  side  knew  that  the  fight  was  to  the 
death.  The  desperate  Taira  struck  the  first 
blow.  Yoshitsune  dominated  and  empowered 
his  men  like  the  spirit  of  war  incarnate. 
There  befell  a  fierce  frenzy  of  slaughter. 
When  the  two  sides  had  fought  to  exhaus- 
tion, there  came  a  pause  like  a  gasp  for 
breath.  But  suddenly  a  great  archer  from 
among  the  Minamoto  hosts  sprang  to  his 
feet  and  sped  a  mighty  shaft  with  such 
fierce  ardor  from  his  mighty  bow  that  it 
clove  the  wooden  prow  of  a  Taira  vessel 
as  though  it  were  human  flesh.  Instantly 
the  men  on  either  side  leaped  to  their  arms 
again,  but  stood  for  a  moment  motionless 
to  watch  the  dramatic  duel  into  which  the 
great  struggle  had  now  suddenly  resolved 
itself.  For  the  chieftain  in  the  Taira  ves- 
sel plucked  the  shaft  from  the  cloven  prow 


AN  ANCIENT  JAPANESE  ARCHER. 


ADOLESCENCE  79 

and  flung  it  to  his  doughtiest  archer  with  the 
shout, — 

" Shoot  it  back!" 

The  command  was  obeyed  with  such  furi- 
ous precision  that  a  Minamoto  soldier  fell 
transfixed.  Now  it  was  Yoshitsune  himself 
who  gave  the  swift  command, — 

''Shoot  it  back!" 

"It  is  but  short  and  frail,"  calmly  replied 
the  Minamoto  archer  who  had  opened  this 
strange  duel,  as  he  plucked  the  weapon  from 
the  dead  man's  breast  and  tossed  it  into  the 
sea.  Then,  seizing  a  still  longer  shaft,  he 
shot  it  with  such  fierce  fury  that  it  leaped 
through  the  armor  and  heart  of  a  Taira  bow- 
man and  fell  far  in  the  sea  beyond.  This 
was  the  signal  for  a  general  attack  from  the 
Minamoto  legions  beside  which  the  earlier 
fighting  was  a  mockery.  Yoshitsune  him- 
self towered  like  Mars  above  his  devoted 
bowmen,  speeding  each  great  shaft  from  his 
bowstring  straight  to  the  heart  of  his  victim. 
"The  whizzing  of  arrows,  the  clash  of  two- 
handed  swords,  the  clanging  of  armor,  the 
sweep  of  churning  oars,  the  crash  of  colliding 
junks,  the  wild  song  of  the  rowers,  the  shouts 
of  the  warriors,  made  the  storm-chorus  of 
battle.  One  after  another  the  Taira  ships, 


80  YOUNG  JAPAN 

crushed  by  the  prows  of  their  opponents,  or 
scuttled  by  the  iron  bolt-heads  of  the  Mina- 
moto  archers,  sunk  beneath  the  bubbling 
waters,  leaving  red  whirlpools  of  blood." 
The  battle  over,  those  few  who  escaped  the 
red  maw  of  the  sea  were  pursued  and  ruth- 
lessly slain.  Only  a  handful  reached  the 
mountain  fastnesses  of  Kyushu,  where  their 
descendants  still  survive  as  a  separate  and 
lonely  community,  suspicious  of  all  their 
kind,  because  their  transmitted  memories 
have  been  so  fiercely  seared  with  the  hot 
breath  of  that  terrible  battle. 

Treachery  had  a  hand  in  the  events  of  that 
awful  day.  A  traitor  to  the  Tairas  singled 
out  for  Yoshitsune  the  precious  central  ves- 
sel that  contained  the  sacred  person  of  the 
infant  Emperor,  with  his  mother  and  aged 
grandmother.  "Perhaps  the  annals  of  no 
other  country  are  richer  in  the  recitals  of 
results  gained  by  treachery,"  says  Dr.  Griffis 
in  "The  Mikado's  Empire."  But  when  the 
Minamoto  clan  bore  down  upon  the  imperial 
boat  and  boarded  it,  Yoshitsune  leading  the 
way,  the  grandmother  of  the  Emperor,  her- 
self a  Taira,  leaped  with  him  into  the  sea 
rather  than  give  his  coveted  person  to  the 
foe,  and  his  mother  also  was  slain ;  but  Yori- 


ADOLESCENCE  $1 

tomo  had  already  found  a  way  to  fill  his  place 
by  having  the  infant  Emperor 's  brother  pro- 
claimed Emperor  in  his  stead. 

Yoritomo  was  the  unbrotherly  chieftain 
whom  Yoshitsune  so  faithfully  served.  Find- 
ing himself  now  master  of  the  empire, 

Yoritomo. 

he  turned  to  the  tasks  of  rule.  The 
result  of  his  successful  efforts  at  statecraft 
was  to  establish  that  peculiar  form  of  govern- 
ment known  as  the  Shogunate,  which  ruled 
Japan  almost  continuously  until  the  pristine 
imperialism  was  again  restored  as  the  out- 
come of  Perry's  expedition, — that  is  to  say, 
during  the  seven  hundred  years  embraced  be- 
tween the  dates  1185  and  1868  A.D.  The  name 
Shogun  had  long  been  in  use ;  it  simply  meant 
"general."  But  General  Yoritomo  gave  to 
this  word  a  new  meaning  and  became  the  first 
of  the  real  Shoguns,  or  military  rulers  of 
feudal  Japan.  The  first  peculiarities  of  this 
dual  system  of  government  have  already  been 
made  plain.  Since  the  advent  of  Chinese 
bureaucratic  influences,  five  hundred  years 
before,  the  Emperor  had  been  but  a  puppet 
in  the  hands  of  the  dominant  family,  and  for 
a  century  now  this  domination  had  been  de- 
termined by  martial  power.  Yoritomo  de- 
veloped this  domination  into  a  highly  organ- 


82  YOUNG  JAPAN 

ized  system  known  as  the  Shogunate,  and  it 
became  the  permanent  rule. 

The  gist  of  the  Shdgunate  system  lies  in 

the  idea  of  two  capitals.    Since  the  year  A.D. 

794  the  Emperor  and  court  had 

The  Shogunate.  •  -,     -,      .          -r-r 

resided  in  Kyoto, — now  some- 
times called  Saikyo,  "the  western  capital, "- 
a  splendid  city  in  western  Japan.  But  Yori- 
tomo  built  for  himself  (A.D.  1189)  a  great  city 
on  the  eastern  coast,  named  Kamakura,  which 
became  the  virtual  capital  of  all  Japan.  Yet 
he  knew  the  bee-like  sentiment  of  the  Japan- 
ese towards  their  emperor,  hence  he  was  ever 
careful  to  see  that  Kamakura  received  the 
sanction  of  Kyoto,  to  which  it  remained  theo- 
retically subordinate.  But  only  theoretically 
so.  Did  not  the  reigning  Emperor  owe  his 
very  throne  to  Yoritomo  f  And  not  only  that, 
but  the  empire  was  indebted  to  the  Minamoto 
family  for  the  addition  to  the  realm  of  large 
portions  of  eastern  and  northern  Japan 
which  they  had  conquered  from  the  ever  re- 
treating Ainu.  We  are  confronted,  there- 
fore, by  a  condition  and  a  theory,  and  an  at- 
tempt to  harmonize  the  two.  The  theory  was, 
and  always  has  been,  that  the  Emperor,  as 
"Son  of  Heaven,"  is  supreme  head  of  the 
realm.  The  condition  was,  that  Yoritomo  in 


ADOLESCENCE  83 

fact  was  at  the  head  of  the  realm.  And  the 
solution  was  the  Shogunate.  Yoritomo, 
whose  loyalty  was  certainly  equalled  by  his 
astuteness,  centred  his  power  in  his  Eastern 
capital,  Kamakura,  but  derived  his  authority 
from  the  Western  capital  of  Kyoto.  First, 
he  secured  consent  from  his  Emperor  to  con- 
trol the  revenues.  Then  he  established,  with 
imperial  assent,  a  judiciary.  Next  he 
achieved  the  appointment  of  his  own  rela- 
tives as  military  governors  of  provinces. 
Then,  by  the  levying  of  special  taxes, — al- 
ways with  the  imperial  consent, — he  provided 
for  a  standing  army;  and  so  his  system  was 
complete.  The  sentimental  capital  was  in 
Kyoto,  where  the  Emperor  dwelt  in  mysteri- 
ous seclusion,  and  the  practical  capital  was 
at  Kamakura,  where  the  Shogun  actively 
governed.  That  was  the  beginning  of  the 
Shogunate  and  its  essential  idea.  To  make 
the  fact  still  clearer,  we  may  anticipate  by 
pointing  out  that  when  the  Shogunate  finally 
ceased  to  be,  so  did  one  of  the  capitals. 
Tokyo  (then  called  Yedo)  became  the  Sho- 
gun's  capital  in  1603,  while  the  Emperor  con- 
tinue^ to  reside  at  Kyoto.  But  when  the 
Shogunate  fell  two  and  a  half  centuries  later, 
the  Emperor  himself  came  to  Tokyo,  "the 


84  YOUNG  JAPAN 

Eastern  Capital,"  which  has  since  been 
the  single  centre  of  a  fully  restored  impe- 
rialism. 

After  Yoritomo's  death,  the  Shogunate  ex- 
perienced a  temporary  eclipse.  It  was  one  of 
TheHojo  the  revenges  of  fate.  The  same 
usurpation,  treatment  which  the  Minamoto  fam- 
ily had  given  to  the  Emperor  was  now  admin- 
istered to  themselves.  Just  as  the  Emperor 
was  in  their  hands,  so  they,  decadent,  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  powerful  Hoj5  family,  con- 
nections of  theirs  by  marriage.  For  a  hun- 
dred and  thirty-four  years  (A.D.  1199-1333) 
this  high-handed  Ho  jo  regency  controlled  the 
degenerate  Shogunate,  which  was  supposed 
to  be  subordinate  to  the  Emperor,  who,  how- 
ever, was  generally  a  feeble  infant  surrounded 
by  a  corrupt  and  venal  court.  The  Ho  jo 
rulers  treated  imperialism  with  scant  respect, 
using  force  if  there  was  need  for  it,  and  even 
sending  one  emperor,  who  dared  to  assert  his 
rights,  into  an  ignominious  exile.  It  was  the 
darkest  period  of  the  national  history,  and 
the  name  of  Ho  jo  is  forever  execrable  to  loyal 
Japanese,  because  this  hated  household  dared 
to  commit  the  unpardonable  crime  of  using 
force  against  the  sacred  person  where  others 
had  used  only  "diplomacy." 


ADOLESCENCE  85 

The  Ho  jo  interregnum  is  memorable  for 
one  great  event,  however,  wherein  the  nation 
takes  pride.  It  was  the  repulse  of  The  Tatar 
the  great  Tatar  invasion  in  A.D.  1281.  invasion. 
Kublai  Khan,  having  conquered  the  throne 
of  China,  determined  to  conquer  also  Japan. 
With  colossal  self-assurance,  he  therefore  de- 
spatched an  embassy  to  Kamakura,  demand- 
ing the  peaceful  subjection  of  the  country. 
But  his  emissaries  were  treated  by  the  Hojo 
rulers  with  the  most  indignant  scorn.  Sur- 
prised that  so  small  a  nation  should  despise 
his  sway,  but  tolerant  of  their  pitiful  igno- 
rance, the  tyrannous  ruler  of  China  now  con- 
cluded to  admonish  them  by  means  of  an  ob- 
ject lesson.  So  his  troops  took  possession  of 
Tsushima,  a  Japanese  island  midway  between 
Japan  and  Korea.  A  second  embassy  was 
then  despatched  to  Kamakura,  with  the  inti- 
mation that  as  the  troops  had  occupied  Tsu- 
shima, so  also  would  they  overrun  Japan. 
But  the  answer  of  the  Hojo  regents  was  more 
emphatic  than  before, — they  cut  off  the  am- 
bassadors' heads.  Kublai  Khan,  now  thor- 
oughly enraged,  thereupon  prepared  an  ar- 
mada of  a  hundred  thousand  men,  which  was 
destined,  however,  to  share  the  fate  of  that 
other  famous  armada  despatched  later  by 


86  YOUNG  JAPAN 

Spain  against  England.  For  when  the  in- 
vading fleet  appeared  in  the  offing  of  Ha- 
kata,  on  the  coast  of  central  Kyushu,  the 
valorous  defence  of  the  Japanese  was  aided 
and  perfected  by  a  terrible  storm,  or  ty- 
phoon, which  overwhelmed  the  invaders  with 
destruction.  This  is  the  only  time  that  an 
actual  invasion  of  Japan  has  been  attempted, 
and  the  sole  lustre  of  the  Ho  jo  rule  is  that 
reflected  on  it  from  this  great  naval  victory. 

The  ruler  whom  the  Hojos  had  exiled — 
greatest  of  all  Japanese  emperors — eventu- 
ally had  his  revenge.  Aided  by  large  loyal 
A  Brief  forces  under  two  indignant  gen- 

imperiaiism.  eraiS)  this  vigorous  exiled  mon- 
arch,  Go-Daigo,  accomplished  the  overthrow 
of  the  Hojo  power,  with  the  complete  de- 
struction of  Kamakura,  in  the  year  1333. 
To-day,  as  one  walks  through  the  bamboo 
thickets,  or  bathes  in  the  peaceful  surf  of 
this  little  fishing  village,  it  is  almost  impos- 
sible to  realize  that  here  was  once  a  city  of 
a  million  souls.  However,  Yoritomo's  great 
lonesome  Buddha  remains  in  token  of  the  van- 
ished grandeur,  contemplating  with  his  down- 
cast golden  eyes  the  stately  passage  of  the 
centuries. 

Yoritomo's     magnificent     monument     at 


ADOLESCENCE  87 

Kamakura  is  also  the  most  notable  monu- 
ment of  Japanese  art.  It  is  the  immense 
bronze  image  of  Amida  (Sanscrit,  MetaiArtin 
Amitabha),  the  deity  of  boundless  Japan- 

light,  but  commonly  known  as  the  Dai  Butsu, 
or  Great  Buddha.  It  is  worthy  of  our  espe- 
cial attention  because  it  represents  the  high- 
est Japanese  attainment  in  the  art  wherein 
they  have  especially  excelled,  that  is,  the  art 
of  metal  work. 

That  bronze  was  imported  from  China  into 
Japan  is  proved  by  its  very  name,  Kara-gane, 
or  "China  metal."  And  that  this  importa- 
tion was  made  at  a  very  early  day  is  evinced 
by  the  fact  that  bronzes  reached  a  high  de- 
velopment in  Japan  fully  a  thousand  years 
ago.  The  colossal  effigy  of  Buddha  The  Great 
that  still  exists  at  Nara,  most  an-  Buddhas- 
cient  of  the  permanent  capitals,  was  com- 
pleted in  the  year  749  A.D.  It  is  larger  than 
the  one  at  Kamakura,  being  fifty-three  feet 
in  height,  and  the  very  largest  idol  in  the 
world;  but  it  is  far  inferior  in  point  of 
artistic  merit. 

Bronze  work,  therefore,  reached  its  utmost 
acme  in  Japan  during  the  Kamakura  period ; 
for  in  this  old-time  capital  one  finds  not  only 
Yoritomo  's  wondrous  monument,  but  another 


88  YOUNG  JAPAN 

great  achievement  in  metal  that  rivals  it  in 
consummate  skill  and  splendor.  As  for  the 
Buddha  itself  the  prior  in  charge  informs  us 
that  it  was  cast  in  September,  1252,  by  the  cel- 
ebrated glyptic  artist  Ono  Goroyemon,  under 
the  general  direction  of  one  of  the  ladies  who 
had  been  attached  to  Yoritomo's  court,  and 
in  fulfilment  of  what  she  knew  to  be  his  cher- 
ished desire.  It  is  almost  fifty  feet  in  height 
and  is  ninety-eight  feet  in  circumference ;  the 
width  of  the  eyes,  which  are  of  pure  gold,  is 
four  feet  each ;  the  length  of  the  ear  is  six  and 
a  half  feet;  and  the  great  silver  boss  upon 
the  forehead  weighs  thirty  pounds  avoir- 
dupois. Construction  was  accomplished  by 
means  of  sheets  of  bronze  cast  separately, 
brazed  together,  and  finished  off  at  the  edges 
with  a  chisel.  But  no  figures  and  no  descrip- 
tion can  do  justice  to  the  supreme  impressive- 
ness  of  this  gigantic  work  of  art,  which  seems 
to  grow  in  grandeur,  like_Niagara,  with  every 
visit.*  The  ideality  of  Ono's  conception  has 
not  been  marred  by  the  colossal  scale  on 
which  he  wrought.  Somehow  the  image  con- 
veys far  better  than  words  the  essential  mes- 

*  An  illustration  of  the  Dai  Butsu  is  contained  in  the 
companion  volume,  "Japan  To-Day." 


ADOLESCENCE  89 

sage  of  the  higher  Buddhism.  As  one  gazes, 
awe-struck,  and  with  upturned  face,  into  the 
profoundly  calm  and  benignant  countenance, 
whose  features  speak  so  eloquently  of  abso- 
lute self-conquest  and  self-repression,  this 
"fleeting  show"  of  mundane  existence  seems 
as  but  a  show  of  trifling  shadows  in  com- 
parison with  the  Nirvana  of  the  vast  Un- 
known. Perhaps  no  other  image  in  the 
world  to-day  testifies  with  mightier  power 
to  the  message  that  inspired  the  hand  of 
the  author. 

The  other  most  eloquent  witness  of  Japan's 
great  bronze  age,  so  to  speak,  is  found  within 
this  same  small  fishing  village ;  re-  The  ^^ 
minding  one  of  the  poet's  proverb,  Goddess  of 
"Oft  within  a  wooden  house  a 
golden  room  we  find."  Mr.  Lafcadio  Hearn's 
description  of  this  golden  Kwannon  goddess 
is  so  vivid  and  so  beautiful  that  it  is  quoted 
here,  in  part,  from  his  "Glimpses  of  Unfa- 
miliar Japan." — "The  old  priest  lights  a  lan- 
tern, and  leads  the  way  through  a  low  door- 
way into  the  interior  of  the  temple,  into  some 
very  lofty  darkness.  I  follow  him  cautiously 
a  while,  discerning  nothing  whatever  but  the 
flicker  of  the  lantern;  then  we  halt  before 
something  which  gleams.  A  moment,  and  my 


90  YOUNG  JAPAN 

eyes,  becoming  more  accustomed  to  the  dark- 
ness, begin  to  distinguish  outlines;  the 
gleaming  object  defines  itself  as  a  foot,  and  I 
perceive  the  hem  of  a  golden  robe  undulating 
over  the  instep.  Now  the  other  foot  appears ; 
the  figure  is  certainly  standing.  I  can  per- 
ceive that  we  are  in  a  narrow  but  also  very 
lofty  chamber,  and  that  out  of  some  mysteri- 
ous blackness  overhead  ropes  are  dangling 
down  into  the  circle  of  lantern  light  illumi- 
nating the  golden  feet.  The  priest  lights  two 
more  lanterns,  and  suspends  them  upon 
hooks  attached  to  a  pair  of  pendent  ropes 
about  a  yard  apart ;  then  he  pulls  up  both  to- 
gether slowly.  More  of  the  golden  robe  is 
revealed  as  the  lanterns  ascend,  swinging  on 
their  way;  then  the  outlines  of  two  mighty 
knees;  then  the  curving  of  columnar  thighs 
under  chiselled  drapery,  and  as  with  the  still 
waving  ascent  of  the  lanterns  the  golden 
vision  towers  higher  through  the  gloom,  ex- 
pectation intensifies.  There  is  no  sound  but 
the  sound  of  invisible  pulleys  overhead, 
which  squeak  like  bats.  Now  above  the 
golden  girdle,  the  suggestion  of  a  bosom. 
Then  the  glowing  of  a  golden  hand  uplifted 
in  benediction.  Then  another  golden  hand 
holding  a  lotus.  And  at  last  a  face,  golden, 


ADOLESCENCE  91 

smiling  with  eternal  youth  and  infinite  ten- 
derness,— the  face  of  Kwannon. 

"So  revealed  out  of  the  consecrated  dark- 
ness, this  ideal  of  Divine  femininity,  creation 
of  a  forgotten  art  and  time,  is  more  than  im- 
pressive. I  can  scarcely  call  the  emotion 
which  it  produces  admiration;  it  is  rather 
reverence. 

"But  the  lanterns,  which  paused  a  while  at 
the  level  of  the  beautiful  face,  now  ascend 
still  higher,  with  a  fresh  squeaking  of  pul- 
leys. And  lo!  the  tiara  of  the  divinity  ap- 
pears, with  strangest  symbolism.  It  is  a 
pyramid  of  heads,  of  faces, — charming  faces 
of  maidens,  miniature  faces  of  Kwannon 
herself. 

"For  this  is  the  Kwannon  of  the  Eleven 
Faces, — Jiu-ichi-men-Kwannon. ' ' 

So  by  the  side  of  the  deity  of  boundless 
light,  the  Mother  of  Mercy  stands  hid  in  the 
inky  darkness,  waiting  with  her  bright  golden 
smile  for  such  as  will  lift  up  the  torches  of 
prayer.  Nowhere  else  in  Japan  do  the  pagan 
religions  wear  such  beneficent  aspect,  or 
promise  so  much  of  sweet  mercy.  Nowhere 
else  in  the  world,  let  us  say,  has  sculptured 
art  lent  more  aid  to  devoutness. 

Japan  owes  her  art  wholly  to  Buddhism,  as 


92  YOUNG  JAPAN 

we  shall  see  still  more  clearly  when  we  come 
to  consider  her  painting.    But  it  is  none  the 

Artistic  ^ess  ^rue  °^  nei*  statuary ;  for  the 

influence  great  religion  of  India  has  peo- 
pled the  Japanese  solitudes  with 
statues,  and  chiselled  even  the  wayside  rocks 
with  texts  from  the  sutras.  One  traveller 
speaks  for  the  many  when  he  asks  with  en- 
thusiasm, ' '  Who  can  forget  the  soft  enchant- 
ment of  this  Buddhist  atmosphere? — the  deep 
music  of  the  great  bells  1 — the  green  peace  of 
gardens  haunted  by  fearless  things:  doves 
that  flutter  down  at  call,  fishes  rising  to  be 
fed  ? ' '  Buddhism  is  a  religion  not  so  much  of 
ethics  as  of  esthetics;  and  this  largely  ac- 
counts for  its  successes  among  a  people  with 
whom  beauty  is  divine.  Their  modern  metal- 
work,  in  minor  departments,  has  become  fa- 
miliar in  the  West.  They  are  especially  no- 
table for  a  remarkable  amalgam  known  as 
shakudo,  which  appears  to  consist  chiefly  of 
iron,  relieved  by  partial  overlayings  of  gold, 
silver,  and  bronze.  The  designs  into  which 
these  amalgams  are  wrought  still  bear  the 
tracery  of  Buddhism.  Not  the  least  of  the 
Japanese  metallic  achievements  have  been 
suits  of  remarkable  armor,  sometimes  thinly 
overlaid  with  gold  here  and  there;  and  we 


A  TEMPLE  GARDEN  IN  KYOTO. 


ADOLESCENCE  93 

gain  a  vivid  realization  of  Japan's  modern 
progress  when  we  reflect  that  this  cunningly 
wrought  but  cumbersome  armor  has  been 
worn  into  warfare  by  men  still  alive.  Per- 
haps the  most  crafty  of  the  bygone  artists 
was  Miyochin  Munechika,  "  who  loved  to  set 
himself  impossible  tasks,  and  who  manipu- 
lated iron  as  though  it  were  wax."  Modem 
He  has  worthy  modern  successors  in  Masters- 
Saito  and  Suzuki,  men  devoted  to  the  highest 
ideals  of  their  craft. 

But  let  us  resume  the  thread  of  our  narra- 
tive. 

The  downfall  of  the  Hojo  power  (1333) 
meant  the  complete  collapse  of  the  Shogunate, 
and  the  Emperor  now  found  him-  The  AsMkaga 
self  restored  to  absolute  power.  a<ul- 

But  the  restoration  of  imperialism  was  of 
very  brief  duration.  Go-Daigo  bestowed  great 
power  upon  a  man  named  Ashikaga,  kinsman 
of  the  Minamoto  clan,  and  -this  prince  of  in- 
trigue and  treachery  contrived  to  erect  a  new 
Shogunate,  with  himself  as  chief.  His  main 
step  to  this  end  was  to  oppose  the  Emperor 
who  had  exalted  him  to  power,  even  to  the  ex- 
tent of  setting  up  a  rival  emperor  whom  he 
himself  could  control.  This  plunged  the  na- 
tion once  more  into  the  horrors  of  a  bloody 


94  YOUNG  JAPAN 

civil  war,  which  lasted  about  sixty  years.  It 
was  the  war  of  the  rival  Mikados,  and  has  been 
called  the  Japanese  War  of  the  Eoses.  The 
strife  ended  in  the  year  1392,  with  the  tri- 
umph of  the  Ashikaga  party,  so  that  the  Sh5- 
gunate  was  now  fully  restored  to  power,  and 
the  emperors  again  became  puppets.  The  rule 
of  the  Ashikaga  family  continued  until  1565, 
when  they  met  the  fate  of  their  predecessors, 
the  Fujiwara,  succumbing  to  their  own  ef- 
feminacy. But  meanwhile  their  reign  was 
noted  for  the  advancement  of  artistic  ele- 
gance, just  as  the  Fujiwara  regime  had  fos- 
tered literature.  Painting  and  the  drama 
flourished,  while  those  peculiar  Japanese  arts 
that  have  to  do  with  flowers  were  at  this  time 
brought  to  perfection.  The  elaborate  tea  cere- 
monials, known  as  cha-yu*  also  had  their  ori- 

*  "  The  tea  used  is  in  the  form,  not  of  tea-leaves,  but 
of  powder,  so  that  the  resulting  beverage  resembles  pea- 
soup  in  color  and  consistency.  There  is  a  thicker  kind 
called  koi-cha,  and  a  thinner  kind  called  usu-cha.  The 
former  is  used  in  the  earlier  stage  of  the  proceedings, 
the  latter  towards  the  end.  The  tea  is  made  and  drunk 
in  a  preternaturally  slow  and  formal  manner,  each  action, 
each  gesture,  being  fixed  by  an  elaborate  code  of  rules. 
Every  article  connected  with  the  ceremony,  such  as  the 
tea-canister,  the  incense-burner,  the  hanging  scroll,  and 
the  bouquet  of  flowers  in  the  alcove,  is  either  handled,  or 


AKMOK   t'SED  IN  "THE  WAR  OF  THE   KOSES.' 


ADOLESCENCE  95 

gin  at  the  court  of  the  Ashikaga,  which  seemed 
to  delight  in  the  furtherance  of  strange  and 
esoteric  arts.  Buddhism,  moreover,  reached 
its  height  of  power  at  this  period.  But 
throughout  the  remoter  provinces  a  condition 
approaching  anarchy  prevailed  for  the  most 
of  the  time,  while  piracy  flourished  on  the 
seas. 

The  Ashikaga  regency,  if  notable  for  artis- 
tic excellence,  was  also  notorious  for  gov- 
ernmental misrule. 

The  art  of  painting  reached  its  highest 
development  under  the  Ashikaga  rule,  having 
been  introduced  and  fostered  by  the  TheArtof 
Buddhists.  The  native  religion,  Painting: 
Shinto,  had  no  art.  Its  ghost-houses, 
silent  and  void,  were  not  even  decorated,  and 
they  retain  their  pristine  simplicity  to  this 


else  admired  at  a  distance,  in  ways  and  with  phrases 
which  unalterable  usage  prescribes.  Even  the  hands  are 
washed,  the  room  is  swept,  a  little  bell  is  rung,  and  the 
guests  walk  from  the  house  to  the  garden  and  from  the 
garden  back  into  the  house,  at  stated  times  and  in  a 
stated  manner  which  never  varies,  except  in  so  far  as 
certain  schools,  as  rigidly  conservative  as  monkish  con- 
fraternities, obey  slightly  varying  rules  of  their  own, 
handed  down  from  their  ancestors." — CHAMBERLAIN. 
"Things  Japanese." 


96  YOUNG  JAPAN 

day.  But  Buddhism,  as  Mr.  Hearn  observes, 
— himself  a  Buddhist, — brought  in  its  train 
from  China  all  of  the  arts  of  carving,  paint- 
ing, and  decoration,  giving  especial  attention 
to  painting.  "The  images  of  its  Bodhisatt- 
vas,  smiling  in  gold, — the  figures  of  its  heav- 
enly guardians  and  infernal  judges,  its  fem- 
inine angels  and  monstrous  demons, — must 
have  startled  and  amazed  imaginations  yet 
unaccustomed  to  any  kind  of  art.  Great 
paintings  hung  in  the  temples,  and  frescoes 
limned  upon  their  walls  or  ceilings,  explained 
better  than  words  the  doctrine  of  the  Six 
States  of  Existence,  and  the  dogma  of  future 
rewards  and  punishments.  In  rows  of  kake- 
mono, suspended  side  by  side,  were  displayed 
the  incidents  of  a  Soul 's  journey  to  the  realm 
of  judgment,  and  all  the  horrors  of  the  vari- 
ous hells.  One  pictured  the  ghosts  of  faith- 
less wives,  for  ages  doomed  to  pluck,  with 
bleeding  fingers,  the  rasping  bamboo-grass 
that  grows  by  the  Springs  of  Death ;  another 
showed  the  torment  of  the  slanderer,  whose 
tongue  was  torn  by  demon-pincers;  in  a 
third  appeared  the  spectres  of  lustful  men, 
vainly  seeking  to  flee  the  embraces  of  women 
of  fire,  or  climbing,  in  frenzied  terror,  the 
slopes  of  the  Mountain  of  Swords.  Pictured 


ADOLESCENCE  97 

also  were  the  circles  of  the  Preta-world 
[gaki] ,  and  the  pangs  of  the  Hungry  Ghosts, 
and  likewise  the  pains  of  rebirth  in  the  form 
of  reptiles  and  of  beasts.  And  the  art  of 
these  early  representations — many  of  which 
have  been  preserved — was  an  art  of  no  mean 
order.  We  can  hardly  conceive  the  effect 
upon  inexperienced  imagination  of  the  crim- 
son frown  of  Emma,  judge  of  the  dead, — or 
the  vision  of  that  weird  Mirror  which  re- 
flected to  every  spirit  the  misdeeds  of  its  life 
in  the  body, — or  the  monstrous  fancy  of  that 
double-faced  Head  before  the  judgment  seat, 
representing  the  visage  of  the  woman  Mi- 
rume,  whose  eyes  behold  all  secret  sin;  and 
the  vision  of  the  man  Kaguhana,  who  smells 
all  odors  of  evil-doing.  Parental  affection 
must  have  been  deeply  touched  by  the  painted 
legend  of  the  world  of  children's  ghosts, — 
the  little  ghosts  that  must  toil,  under  demon 
surveillance,  in  the  Dry  Bed  of  the  River  of 
Souls.  But  pictured  terrors  were  offset  by 
pictured  consolations, — by  the  beautiful  fig- 
ure of  Kwannon,  white  Goddess  of  Mercy, — 
by  the  compassionate  smile  of  Jizo,  the  play- 
mate of  infant  ghosts, — by  the  charm  also  of 
celestial  nymphs,  floating  on  iridescent  wings 
in  light  of  azure.  The  Buddhist  painters 

7 


98  YOUNG  JAPAN 

opened  to  simple  fancy  the  palaces  of  heaven, 
and  guided  hope,  through  gardens  of  jewel- 
trees,  even  to  the  shores  of  that  lake  where 
the  souls  of  the  blessed  are  reborn  in  lotos- 
blossoms,  and  tended  by  angel-nurses."  So 
truly  exotic  is  the  art  of  painting  that  Japan- 
ese art-critics  still  give  only  grudging  recog- 
nition to  the  leading  native  artists  in  compar- 
ison with  the  praise  bestowed  so  lavishly  on 
Chinese  masters. 

The  earliest  native  painter  to  attain  re- 
nown was  Kose  no  Kanaoka,  who  flourished 
Artistic  during  the  latter  half  of  the  ninth 
Limitations,  century,  under  the  patronage  of  the 
Fujiwara  courtiers.  If  we  could  believe  half 
of  the  quaint  legends  that  testify  to  the  effect 
of  his  skill  on  his  contemporaries,  we  should 
have  to  accord  him  a  place  among  the  few 
great  artists  of  the  world.  But  pre-eminent 
rank  cannot  be  accorded  even  to  the  greatest 
of  Japanese  painters, — as  Sesshu  and  Hoku- 
sai,  for  example, — except  in  the  minor 
branches  of  their  art,  such  as  decoration,  in 
which  they  excel.  Mr.  Alfred  East,  when 
lecturing  on  the  native  art  in  Tokyo,  tersely 
expressed  the  facts  in  declaring  it  to  be 
"  great  in  small  things,  but  small  in  great 
things. ' '  And  Professor  Chamberlain  ampli- 


ADOLESCENCE  99 

fies  this  criticism  when  he  says, '  *  The  Japan- 
ese are  undoubtedly  Raphaels  of  fishes,  and 
insects,  and  flowers,  and  bamboo-stems 
swaying  in  the  breeze ;  and  they  have  given 
us  charming  fragments  of  idealized  scenery. 
But  they  have  never  succeeded  in  adequately 
transferring  to  canvas  'the  human  form  di- 
vine ; '  they  have  never  made  grand  historical 
scenes  live  again  before  the  eyes  of  posterity ; 
they  have  never,  like  the  early  Italian  mas- 
ters, drawn  away  men's  hearts  from  earth  to 
heaven  in  an  ecstasy  of  adoration. ' ' 

By  an  interesting  coincidence,  Japanese 
painting  attained  its  acme  synchronously 
with  Italian  art — that  is  to  say,  The  classic 
during  the  fifteenth  century.  It  was 
then  that  Sesshu  flourished  (1421-1507),  the 
greatest  Japanese  master  of  the  Chinese 
school.  Anderson,  in  his  great  work  on  "The 
Pictorial  Arts  of  Japan,"  says  that  "it  is 
difficult  for  a  European  to  appreciate  Sesshu 
at  his  true  value.  .  .  .  Notwithstanding  the 
boast  of  the  artist  that  the  scenery  of  China 
was  his  only  teacher  and  the  credit  bestowed 
upon  him  by  his  admirers  of  having  invented 
a  new  style,  he  has  in  no  respect  departed 
from  the  artificial  rules  accepted  by  his  fel- 
low painters.  He  was,  however,  an  original 


100  YOUNG  JAPAN 

and  powerful  artist,  and  his  renderings  of 
Chinese  scenes  bear  evidences  of  local  study 
that  we  look  for  in  vain  in  the  works  of  his 
successors.  The  grand  simplicity  of  his 
landscape  compositions,  their  extraordinary 
breadth  of  design,  the  illusive  suggestions  of 
atmosphere  and  distance,  and  the  all-pervad- 
ing sense  of  poetry,  demonstrate  a  genius 
that  could  rise  above  all  defects  of  theory  in 
the  principles  of  his  art."  Sesshu  and  his 
artistic  contemporaries — Cho  Densu,  "the 
Fra  Angelico  of  Japan;"  Josetsu,  famous 
for  his  flowers  and  birds ;  with  Shiibun,  and 
the  Kano  succession — these  constitute  the 
brightest  galaxy  of  the  classical  school  of 
painters,  and  give  great  brilliancy  to  the 
treacherous  Ashikaga  rule. 

The  Tamato  Ryu,  or  "Japanese  school" 
of  painting,  had  been  established  about  the 
The  Native  year  1000  by  an  independent  artist 
named  Motomitsu.  Two  centuries 
later  it  became  known  as  the  Tosa  School,  and 
came  largely  under  the  influences  of  classi- 
cism. But  it  had  planted  the  seeds  of  a  dis- 
tinctively native  art,  being  characterized  by 
those  Japanesque  peculiarities  to  which  West- 
erners have  now  become  accustomed,  with 
its  "neglect  of  perspective,  its  impossible 


ADOLESCENCE  101 

mountains,  its  quaint  dissection  of  roofless 
interiors."  Toba  Sojo,  in  the  middle  of  the 
twelfth  century,  wrought  its  coarse  humor  to 
a  high  degree  of  artistic  effectiveness,  the 
Toba-e,  or  "Toba  pictures,"  constituting  a 
school  of  their  own.  The  classicist  Mitsu- 
nobu,  however,  is  accounted  the  leader  of  the 
Tosa  painters.  But,  towards  the  end  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  an  artist  of  the  Tosa  school, 
Iwasa  Matahei  by  name,  emphasized  the 
earlier  traditions  of  the  Yamato  Ryu;  and  a 
hundred  years  later  great  impetus  was  given 
to  the  development  of  a  purely  native  art  by 
the  realist  Hishigawa  Moronobu,  with  his 
book  illustrations  in  color.  This  line  of  de- 
velopment continued  through  Okyo,  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  Sosen,  his  pupil,  until 
at  last,  under  the  Tokugawa  regime  (if  we 
may  anticipate),  "art  was  released  from  its 
mediaeval  Chinese  swaddling-clothes,  and 
allowed  to  mix  in  the  society  of  living  men 
and  women."  Then  it  was  that  a  great  mul- 
titude of  "artisan-artists"  sprang  up,  who 
brought  about  the  popularization  of  Japanese 
art  by  the  naturalness  of  their  method,  and 
by  their  conformity  to  the  taste  of  the  public. 
Foreign  students  of  Japanese  painting  are 
likely  to  be  most  strongly  attracted  by  the 


102  YOUNG  JAPAN 

work  of  the  artist  Hokusai  (1760-1849),  the 
chief  of  these  artisan-artists,  and  most  nota- 
kle  °^  a^  natiye  painters.  Living  in 
extremest  poverty,  and  creating  art 
for  art's  sake,  his  extraordinary  talent  cov- 
ered "the  whole  range  of  Japanese  art  mo- 
tives," as  Dr.  Anderson  tells  us, — "scenes 
of  history,  drama,  and  novel,  incidents  in  the 
daily  life  of  his  own  class,  realizations  of 
familiar  objects  of  animal  and  vegetable  life, 
wonderful  suggestions  of  the  scenery  of  his 
beloved  Yedo  and  its  surroundings,  and  a 
hundred  other  inspirations  that  would  re- 
quire a  volume  to  describe. ' '  One  of  his  best 
known  works  is  a  collection  called  Fuji  Hyak- 
kei,  or  "A  Hundred  Views  of  Mt.  Fuji,"  ex- 
ecuted when  he  was  seventy-six  years  old. 
He  depicts  the  peerless  mountain  from  every 
possible — and  impossible — point  of  view, 
one  of  the  sketches  even  showing  how  the 
mountain  looks  while  being  ascended  by  a 
fiery  dragon.  Thousands  of  Hokusai 's 
sketches  are  still  extant,  all  of  them  possess- 
ing a  certain  boldness  of  conception  and  vigor 
of  line  that  mark  them  with  the  touch  of  the 
master.  His  chief  contemporaries  in  color- 
print  work  were  Toyokuni,  Kunisada,  Shi- 
genobu,  and  Hiroshige.  It  is  significant  that 


ADOLESCENCE  103 

he  died  just  four  years  previous  to  the  com- 
ing of  Commodore  Perry,  and  that  his  death 
marked  the  decay  of  pictorial  art  in  Japan. 
Since  the  opening  of  her  hermit  gates  to  the 
workaday  business  of  the  modern  world, 
Japan  has  had  little  time  to  paint  pictures. 
There  are  still  men  who  work  before  easels, 
but  that  leisurely  composure  is  gone  with- 
out which  painting  ceases  to  exist  as  an  art, 
and  sinks  to  the  level  of  mechanics.  Decora- 
tors there  are,  in  abundance,  who  turn  out 
pretty  works  by  the  score ;  but  the  glory  of 
Japanese  painting,  which  reached  its  classic 
zenith  in  the  fifteenth  century,  and  its  high- 
est native  development  under  Hokusai,  is 
dimmed  by  material  matters. 

The  distinctive  influence  of  this  art,  how- 
ever, can  never  be  lost  from  the  world.  It 
is  marked,  above  all,  by  natural-  Features  of 
ness.  This  is  true  even  of  those  ^P"*88^- 
features  that  seem  to  us  almost  unnatural. 
The  invention  of  the  instantaneous  photo- 
graph, for  example,  proved  that  the  "awk- 
ward" Japanese  artist  was  not  awkward  at 
all,  but  that  he  had  really  caught,  in  some  in- 
explicable manner,  the  true  report  of  figures 
in  rapid  motion,  as  seems  in  no  wise  possible 
for  the  slower  Occidental  eye.  Then  he  takes 


104  YOUNG  JAPAN 

this  photographic  report  and  idealizes  it,  with 
a  result  that  is  unique  in  art.  It  may  not  be 
great,  but  it  is  wonderful  and  very  beauti- 
ful. The  chief  reason  of  this  wonder  and 
beauty  is  found  in  the  fact — to  quote  from  Sir 
Eutherford  Alcock — ''that  the  Japanese  have 
derived  all  their  fundamental  ideas  of  sym- 
metry, so  different  from  ours,  from  a  close 
study  of  nature  and  of  her  processes  in  the 
attainment  of  endless  variety." 

They  are  teaching  us  the  beauty  of  the 
irregular  in  art,  which  they  have  learned  from 
the  irregularity  of  nature.  The  arrangement 
of  a  Japanese  bouquet,  for  example,  is  as  dif- 
ferent from  the  method  of  one  of  our  florists 
as  nature  differs  from  artifice.  Instead  of 
forcing  the  poor  flowers  into  stilted  straight- 
jacket  rigidity,  the  Japanese  florist  jealously 
maintains  their  sweet  freedom,  conserving  in 
the  cut  bouquet  the  charm  and  the  grace  of 
free  nature.  So  also,  while  their  painted 
birds  and  flowers  are  doubtless  not  afflicted 
with  ornithological  or  botanical  correctness, 
they  invariably  evince  a  profound  devotion  to 
the  irregular  beauty  of  nature  that  cannot  be 
too  much  admired.  Because  the  Japanese  art- 
ist is  loyal  to  nature,  he  avoids  geometrical 
artifice.  "Thus  if  a  lacquer  box  in  the  form 


ADOLESCENCE  105 

of  a  parallelogram  is  the  object,  the  artists 
will  not  divide  it  in  two  equal  parts  by  a 
perpendicular  line,  but  by  a  diagonal,  as  offer- 
ing a  more  pleasing  line  and  division.  If  the 
box  be  round  they  will  seek  to  lead  the  eye 
away  from  the  naked  regularity  of  the  circle 
by  a  pattern  distracting  attention,  as,  for  ex- 
ample, by  a  zigzag  breaking  the  circular  out- 
line, and  supported  by  other  ornaments. ' ' 

The  characteristic  freedom  and  grace  of  ex- 
ecution may  doubtless  be  traced  very  largely 
to  the  commonplace  fact  that  a  brush  and  not 
a  pen  is  the  immemorial  instrument  of  writ- 
ing. From  childhood  the  artist  handles  the 
brush,  so  that  he  is  not  compelled  to  acquire, 
in  the  less  flexible  years  of  maturity,  skill  in 
the  use  of  a  new  instrument.  He  can  hardly 
remember  the  time  when  his  hand  and  the 
brush  were  not  cronies.  Not  only  so,  but  from 
the  beginning  he  has  been  tracing  the  most 
intricate  free-hand  figures,  in  the  complex 
ideographs  of  his  cumbersome  alphabet. 
Their  caligraphic  system  of  penmanship 
makes  all  Japanese  more  or  less  artists.  Be- 
hind this,  of  course,  lies  that  delicate  esthetic 
temperament  which  is  one  of  the  marked  char- 
acteristics of  the  race,  as  also  their  faculties 
of  close  observation. 


106  YOUNG  JAPAN 

When  all  is  said,  possibly  the  most  pleasing 
and  most  truly  artistic  feature  of  the  better 
Japanese  painting  is  the  fact  that  it  does  not 
assert,  but  suggests.  It  credits  the  critic  with 
imagination,  and  permits  him  to  use  it,  thus 
sharing  the  artist's  own  joy  of  creation.  It 
is  not  photography,  it  is  poetry;  it  is  not 
mechanics,  but  art. 

The  Ashikaga  reign  is  chiefly  memorable  in 
history  for  the  beginning  of  European  con- 
European  tact  with  Japan,  through  the  ship- 
contact,  wreck  of  three  Portuguese  sailors 
on  the  southernmost  island  of  Kyushu  in  the 
year  1542.  A  few  years  later  Mendez  Pinto 
twice  visited  this  empire,  which  Marco  Polo 
had  so  extravagantly  described  to  his  coun- 
trymen upon  the  basis  of  Chinese  hearsay, 
about  two  centuries  before.  Pinto  and  his 
companions  remained  in  Japan  for  months 
together,  introducing  the  use  of  firearms, 
which  the  people  were  quick  to  imitate,  and 
astounding  the  natives  with  the  efficacy  of 
European  surgery  and  drugs.  A  number  of 
words  that  have  now  become  ingrained  in  the 
Japanese  vocabulary  can  be  traced  back  to 
this  early  influx  of  European  commodities 
which  brought  their  own  strange  nomencla- 
ture with  them. 


ADOLESCENCE  107 

When  Pinto  was  on  the  point  of  leaving 
Japan  in  the  year  1547,  a  Japanese  by  the 
name  of  Anjiro,  with  his  servant,  TheFim 
succeeded  in  embarking  with  him.  Mi88i°nary. 
This  runaway  adventure  resulted  in  nothing 
less  than  the  successful  introduction  of  Chris- 
tianity. For  Anjiro  and  his  companion  were 
carried  by  Pinto  to  Malacca,  where  the  great 
Jesuit  missionary,  Francis  Xavier,  happened 
to  meet  them.  He  became  deeply  interested 
in  the  two  Japanese,  and  soon  won  them  to 
the  Christian  faith.  Having  given  them  a 
course  of  instruction  in  the  seminary  at  Goa, 
he  himself  returned  with  them  in  1549,  land- 
ing at  Kagoshima  in  Kyushu  on  the  fifteenth 
day  of  August.  Xavier  brought  with  him 
two  zealous  Portuguese  assistants,  and  the 
first  converts  to  be  won  were  those  of  An- 
jiro's  own  household.  The  prince  of  the 
province  of  Satsuma,  whereof  Kagoshima  is 
the  capital,  gave  great  assistance  to  the 
missionaries,  who  were  most  favorably  im- 
pressed with  their  reception.  "I  really 
think,"  wrote  Xavier  in  early  letters,  ''that 
among  barbarous  nations  there  can  be  none 
that  has  more  natural  goodness  than  Japan. 
.  .  .  They  are  wonderfully  inclined  to  see  all 
that  is  good  and  honest,  and  have  an  eager- 


108  YOUNG  JAPAN 

ness  to  learn.  .  .  .  This  nation  is  the  delight 
of  my  soul. ' '  This  zealous,  self-denying,  and 
sympathetic  missionary  met  with  great  suc- 
cess in  the  prosecution  of  his  mission.  He 
went  everywhere  preaching  the  Word. 
Crossing  over  from  Kyushu  into  the  main 
island  of  Hondo,  he  journeyed  from  town  to 
town,  and  even  reached  the  imperial  capital, 
Kyoto,  where  he  failed  to  gain  a  hearing  at 
the  court,  but,  nothing  daunted,  proclaimed 
the  gospel  to  the  crowds  in  the  street.  Ee- 
maining  in  Japan  for  two  years  and  three 
months,  he  then  embarked  on  a  mission  to 
China,  but  died  on  the  way,  at  the  age  of 
forty-six  years.  His  work  in  Japan  survived 
him,  and  grew  to  enormous  proportions.  We 
are  told  that  by  the  year  1582  there  were  a 
hundred  and  thirty-eight  Jesuit  missionaries, 
with  six  hundred  thousand  converts.  By  the 
time  the  century  closed,  this  number  is  said 
to  have  increased  to  a  million, — the  flourish- 
ing city  of  Nagasaki,  for  example,  containing 
hardly  a  single  citizen  who  was  not  a  Chris- 
tian. But  troublous  times  awaited  the  Chris- 
tians in  the  incoming  century,  when  the  com- 
mingling of  politics  with  religion,  of  Church 
and  State,  brought  about  an  explosion  that 


ADOLESCENCE  109 

resulted  practically  in  the  destruction  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  in  Japan. 

The  close  of  the  sixteenth  century  wit- 
nessed the  extinction  of  the  nerveless  Ashi- 
kaga  Shogunate,  and  the  emer-  The  Great 
gence  of  that  great  Japanese  tri-  Triumvirate. 
umvirate  whose  successive  careers  marked  an 
interregnum  of  individualism,  and  became  in 
turn  the  foundation  of  a  Shogunate  which 
both  brought  this  peculiar  system  to  its  splen- 
did climax,  and  also  at  length  yielded  to  a 
complete  and  final  overthrow.  These  three 
great  men  were  Nobunaga,  known  as  the  per- 
secutor of  the  Buddhists;  Hideyoshi,  or 
Taiko-Sama,  sometimes  called  the  Japanese 
Napoleon ;  and  lyeyasu,  the  great  founder  of 
the  Tokugawa  Shogunate  and  the  builder  of 
Tokyo.  Both  Hideyoshi  and  lyeyasu  stained 
their  reigns  with  bloody  persecutions  of  the 
Christians. 

Nobunaga,  a  descendant  of  the  defeated 
Taira  clan,  came  of  a  family  of  Shinto  priests. 
But  he,  like  Yoshitsune  before  him, 

Nobunaga. 

forsook  the  altar  for  the  camp.    The 
misrule  of  the  Ashikaga  ShSgunate  had  al- 
lowed Japan  to  sink  into  a  desperate  con- 
dition of  feudal  anarchy,  when  might  made 
right,  and  tenure  of  land  was  decided  by  force 


110  YOUNG  JAPAN 

of  arms  alone.  His  baronial  father  bestowed 
on  Nobunaga  wide  acres  that  had  been 
bought  and  held  through  battle.  The 
doughty  son  (A.D.  1533-1582)  speedily  dou- 
bled and  redoubled  his  possessions  until  he 
controlled  a  greater  power  than  the  Shogun. 
This  title,  however,  he  never  usurped,  being 
loyal  to  the  defeat  of  his  ancestors.  But  he 
set  his  own  Sh5gun  on  the  throne ;  and  after- 
wards, having  quarrelled  with  him,  deposed 
him  and  his  family  altogether  (A.D.  1573), 
after  the  Ashikaga  had  ruled  for  two  hun- 
dred and  thirty-eight  years.  There  is  some- 
thing sublime  in  the  pride  of  this  Taira  chief- 
tain, who,  scorning  the  support  of  the  system 
that  had  been  set  up  by  his  clan's  most  an- 
cient foe,  ruled  by  sheer  individual  strength 
alone.  But  he  was  warrior  rather  than  states- 
man. He  lacked  the  diplomacy  necessary  to 
make  good  his  conquests,  and  at  length  paid 
dearly  for  his  soldierly  roughness.  Being 
one  day  in  an  especially  rollicking  humor,  he 
tucked  an  officer's  head  under  his  arm  and 
beat  on  it  with  a  fan  for  a  drumstick.  The 
sensitive  captain  never  forgot  the  insult,  and 
when  the  time  came  he  had  his  revenge. 

But  Nobunaga  lived  forty-nine  years,  and 
made  an  imperishable  fame  before  his  sensi- 


ADOLESCENCE  111 

live  captain  betrayed  him.  His  chief  distinc- 
tion is  somewhat  invidious;  his  is  the  best 
hated  name  in  the  Buddhist  "in-  persecutions  of 
dex  expurgatorius."  It  was  in-  "^a^8*. 
evitable  that  he  and  the  Buddhists  should 
disagree,  for  in  his  march  towards  organized 
power  he  found  them  the  most  powerful  or- 
ganization in  feudal  mediaeval  Japan.  They 
had  built  great  temples  that  were  really 
castles,  and  the  cowl  was  often  the  cov- 
ering of  a  coat-of-mail.  One  of  the  most 
powerful  emperors  is  reputed  to  have  said 
that  there  were  three  objects  he  could  not 
control, — the  throw  of  the  dice  in  play,  the 
waters  of  a  certain  rough  river,  and  the 
monks  in  the  great  monastery  of  Mount  Hiei. 
There  were  myriads  of  them.  The  sacred 
precincts,  always  secure  from  invasion  on 
account  of  the  reverence  felt  for  religion,  en- 
closed no  less  than  three  thousand  buildings. 
Unfriendly  to  Nobunaga  on  account  of  his 
haughty  independence,  the  abbot  gave  shelter 
and  aid  to  his  enemies.  Nobunaga  seized  the 
opportunity  to  make  open  war  upon  the  great 
organization  of  Buddhism, — the  individual 
against  the  institution.  His  generals  were  at 
first  dumf  ounded  that  he  should  declare  battle 
upon  the  holy  religion  of  Buddha,  but  he  won 


112  YOUNG  JAPAN 

them  to  his  will,  and  in  1571  burned  the  vast 
monastery,  slaughtering  or  banishing  the 
monks.  Subsequently  he  besieged  and  de- 
stroyed the  great  monastic  castle  of  Hong- 
wanji,  in  Osaka,  with  a  ruthless  slaughter 
of  its  twenty  thousand  inmates.  These  two 
immense  properties  belong  to  the  govern- 
ment to  this  day,  while  Buddhism  has 
never  been  able  quite  to  recover  its  ancient 
strength. 

Enmity  against  Buddhism  made  Nobunaga 
friendly  to  the  Christians.  The  Roman  Cath- 
olic  missionaries  of  the  period  de- 
scribed  him  as  "a  prince  of  large 
stature,  but  of  a  weak  and  delicate  complex- 
ion, with  a  heart  and  soul  that  supplied  all 
other  wants;  ambitious  above  all  mankind; 
brave,  generous,  and  bold,  and  not  without 
many  excellent  moral  virtues;  inclined  to 
justice,  and  an  enemy  to  treason."  Although 
never  a  convert  to  the  Christian  faith,  he  re- 
mained its  friend  and  patron  throughout  life, 
and  in  the  very  year  of  his  death  (1582) 
caused  a  splendid  embassy  to  be  sent  to  Por- 
tugal, Spain,  and  Rome,  where  they  were  re- 
ceived with  great  magnificence  and  decorated 
as  "knights  of  the  gilded  spears."  Chris- 
tianity reached  the  acme  of  its  temporal 


A  WARRIOR  MONK  OF  OLD  JAPAN'. 


ADOLESCENCE  113 

power  in  Japan  under  the  patronage  of  this 
great  enemy  of  the  Buddhists. 

While  at  the  very  height  of  his  power,  No- 
hunaga  was  betrayed  by  the  man  whose  sen- 
sitive pride  he  had  outraged.  Having  his 
headquarters  in  a  confiscated  Buddhist  tem- 
ple in  Kyoto,  while  all  of  his  loyal  legions 
were  away  on  the  battle-field,  he  found 
himself  surrounded  one  day  by  a  troop  of 
traitors,  bought  over  for  vengeance's  sake 
by  the  promise  of  rich  booty.  Being  struck 
by  a  hostile  arrow  from  the  hands  of  one 
of  these  men, — his  own  soldiers, — he  realized 
the  situation,  and  calmly  proceeded  to  deprive 
his  treacherous  enemy  of  the  sweetest  mor- 
sel in  the  dish  of  revenge;  for,  having  set 
the  temple  on  fire,  he  plunged  his  own  sword 
into  his  vitals,  and  his  body  was  in  ashes 
before  it  could  be  shamed  by  the  touch  of  a 
treacherous  hand. 

Hideyoshi  (A.D.  1536-1598)  and  lyeyasu 
were  Nobunaga's  two  leading  generals.  As 
soon  as  Hideyoshi  heard  of  this  foul 

Hideyoohi 

deed,    he    hastened    to    Kyoto    to 
avenge  it.    Riding  in  reckless  advance  of  his 
troops  in  the  ardor  of  his  loyal  anger,  Hide- 
yoshi himself  escaped  the  same  band  of  as- 
sassins only  by  means  of  a  stratagem  that 

8 


114  YOUNG  JAPAN 

was  characteristic  of  his  entire  career;  for 
the  traitors  were  in  ambuscade,  and  the  gal- 
loping horseman  was  suddenly  surrounded. 
He  plunged  blindly  into  a  narrow  lane  that 
led  between  two  rice-fields,  and,  finding  him- 
self presently  entrapped  in  the  walled  ap- 
proach to  a  little  temple,  turned  his  horse 
roundabout,  stabbed  him  in  the  flank,  and 
sent  him  thundering  madly  back  upon  the 
pursuers  with  such  force  that  they  were  scat- 
tered pell-mell.  Meanwhile,  Hideyoshi  hur- 
ried into  the  temple  and  found  the  monks 
splashing  together  in  their  common  daily  bath. 
Rapidly  disrobing,  he  plunged  in  among  them, 
exhorting  them  at  the  same  time  to  secrecy, 
and  when  his  pursuers  presently  arrived, 
Hideyoshi  was  nowhere  to  be  seen,  but  only 
a  great  vat-full  of  naked,  rollicking  priests. 
Later,  when  his  own  anxious  troops  reached 
the  temple,  they  found  their  leader  compla- 
cently awaiting  their  coming,  sitting  upon  the 
clean  cool  mats,  refreshed  by  a  bath  from  the 
labor  of  his  reckless  ride.  He  afterwards 
utterly  routed  the  conspiracy  of  traitors, 
whose  leader  died  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  master  whom  he  had  betrayed. 

Hideyoshi,  who  has  the  unique  distinction 
in  Japanese  history  of  being  known  as  Taiko 


ADOLESCENCE  115 

Sama,  "the  Great  Counsellor,"  is  invested 
with  additional  human  interest  by  the  fact 
that  in  this  mediaeval  empire  of  strict  caste 
and  ceremonial  he  presents  an  instance  of  a 
man  rising  to  the  utmost  heights  of  power 
from  an  obscure  and  ignominious  origin. 
Doubtless  this  feature  of  his  career  assists 
in  making  him  to-day  what  he  undoubtedly 
is, — the  demigod  of  a  new  and  a  more  demo- 
cratic Japan,  where  the  shining  example  of 
the  Taiko  serves  as  a  beacon  to  many  an 
ambitious  youth.  He  was  born  of  the  com- 
monest peasants,  and  in  his  boyhood  became 
a  monkey-faced  groom.  Thus  by  chance  he 
came  into  Nobunaga's  employ,  who  was  at- 
tracted to  him  by  his  fascinating  ugliness, 
as  well  as  by  his  mischievous,  bold  pranks, 
and  encouraged  the  clown  to  be  a  soldier.  He 
rose  rapidly  to  the  rank  of  general,  and  with 
characteristic  comedy  made  for  himself  a 
coat-of-arms.  One  can  see  in  it  a  sane  and 
mirthful  mockery  of  the  pretentious  armorial 
bearings  of  the  aristocratic  generals  who  de- 
spised him.  Hideyoshi  found  that  his  best 
friend  on  a  hot  and  dusty  march  was  his 
gourd-canteen,  so  he  erected  a  calabash  as 
his  standard !  When  he  would  win  a  new  bat- 
tle, up  would  go  another  calabash,  until  an 


116  YOUNG  JAPAN 

embroidered  cluster  of  gourds  finally  became 
the  inspiring  banner  of  his  ever  victorious 
legions. 

When  Nobunaga  was  dead  and  avenged, 
Hideyoshi  resolved  to  become  his  successor. 
This  was  far  from  an  easy  task  in  a  land  where 
heredity  counted  for  everything.  Nobu- 
naga's  two  sons  had  powerful  supporters, 
but  Hideyoshi  adopted  a  grandson  of  the  dead 
prince,  only  an  infant  in  arms,  and  succeeded 
in  having  him  installed  as  successor,  with 
Hideyoshi  in  the  comfortable  position  of 
guardian.  Upon  this  guardianship  he  based 
a  claim  to  precedence  over  all  princes  and 
generals,  which  he  established  at  the  point 
of  the  sword. 

In  a  series  of  brilliant  campaigns  this  mili- 
tant lord  of  the  calabash  brought  all  of  Hondo 
under  his  sway,  and  then  all  of  Kyushu,  in- 
cluding the  lordly  ruler  of  Satsuma.  He 
possessed  in  marked  degree  those  very  quali- 
ties of  statesmanship  in  which  Nobunaga  was 
markedly  lacking.  Instead  of  utterly  hum- 
bling the  vanquished  and  incurring  their  in- 
veterate hatred,  he  allowed  them  to  keep  their 
lands,  but  in  fief,  as  a  favor  from  him  as  their 
"Counsellor."  Thus  he  unified  the  entire 
realm  for  the  first  time  in  history,  and  laid 


ADOLESCENCE  117 

the  foundations  for  the  great  Tokugawa  Sho- 
gunate  that  was  to  be  built  up  by  his  suc- 
cessor, lyeyasu.  Hideyoshi  himself  aspired 
to  the  office  of  Shogun,  but  his  low  birth  stood 
in  his  way.  It  is  well  for  his  fame  that  this 
is  so,  for  his  unique  appellation  of  "Taiko" 
secures  him  a  distinction  that  would  have 
been  obscured  by  a  new  line  of  Shoguns.  He 
stands,  like  Napoleon,  solitary  in  original 
power,  distinguished  for  individual  success 
in  spite  of  the  institutions  that  would  have 
crushed  him. 

Hideyoshi  was  a  man  of  no  religion  what- 
ever. Like  Nobunaga,  he  persecuted  the 
Buddhists,  and  was  inclined  to  be 

First 

friendly  to  the  Christians.  But  persecution 
the  Roman  orders  fell  out  among  Christian* 
themselves,  and  this  brought  them 
into  trouble  with  Hideyoshi.  The  Jesuits 
attempted  to  pre-empt  Japan,  and  were  aided 
by  Papal  authority.  But  this  was  distasteful 
to  the  Franciscans  and  Dominicans,  who  de- 
sired to  reap  their  share  of  the  harvest.  Not 
only  so,  but  commercial  jealousies  arose  be- 
tween Spaniards  and  Portuguese.  Each 
party  sought  the  partiality  of  Hideyoshi, 
whose  suspicions  were  at  length  aroused 
against  both.  He  became  convinced  that  the 


118  YOUNG  JAPAN 

preaching  of  the  gospel  was  but  a  pretext 
for  the  conquest  of  the  country.  Accord- 
ingly, in  the  year  1587  he  issued  an  edict  of 
expulsion  against  all  missionaries.  This  re- 
sulted, six  years  later,  in  the  execution  of 
nine  priests  in  Nagasaki,  this  being  the  first 
persecution  authorized  under  the  govern- 
ment. Seventeen  converts  were  slain  with 
the  foreigners.  But  Hideyoshi  does  not  seem 
to  have  attempted  the  extermination  of  Chris- 
tianity altogether.  In  fact,  several  of  his 
leading  generals  remained  open  confessors 
of  the  faith.  He  appears  only  to  have  sought 
the  expulsion  of  all  foreign  influence,  allow- 
ing the  native  church  to  take  care  of  itself. 

It  was  a  Christian  general  who  rendered 
largest  assistance  to  Hideyoshi  in  the  most 
The  invasion  ambitious  undertaking  of  his  life, 
— the  conquest  of  Korea.  He  was 
a  man  of  boundless  aspirations.  When  first 
he  visited  Kamakura  and  saw  a  wooden  im- 
age of  Yoritomo,  he  patted  it  familiarly  on 
the  shoulder  with  the  words,  "You  are  my 
friend.  You  achieved  universal  power,  and 
only  I  besides  you  have  been  able  to  do  like- 
wise (in  Japan).  But  you  came  of  a  famous 
family,  while  I  am  sprung  from  mere  peas- 
ants. I  intend  at  length  to  conquer  all  the 


ADOLESCENCE  119 

earth,  including  China.  What  do  you  think 
of  that?"  His  invasion  of  Korea  was  in- 
tended to  be  only  the  beginning  of  a  vast 
Napoleonic  campaign. 

A  pretext  was  easily  found.  Under  the 
enfeebled  rule  of  the  Ashikaga,  the  custom- 
ary tribute  had  ceased  to  be  collected  from 
Korea,  which  Japan  had  long  demanded  on 
the  basis  of  the  traditional  conquests  of  the 
Empress  Jingo.  In  1582  Hideyoshi  sent  an 
envoy  to  collect  it,  but  without  avail.  Later 
on  he  sent  another,  who  was  so  successful  as 
to  return  with  a  Korean  embassy  to  inter- 
view the  Taiko.  He  treated  this  embassy 
with  such  contempt  that  his  attitude  towards 
their  country  could  not  be  mistaken,  and 
when  the  Koreans  reached  home  they  urged 
preparations  for  war.  The  "land  of  the 
morning  calm,"  unhappily  placed  between 
the  Scylla  of  China  and  the  Charybdis  of 
Japan,  was  as  helpless  then  as  it  is  to-day. 
Meanwhile,  Hideyoshi  collected  from  his  vas- 
sal princes  an  army  of  three  hundred  thou- 
sand men,  and  prepared  to  despatch  them  to 
Korea.  At  that  time,  it  may  be  remarked, 
the  maritime  power  of  his  country  was  at  its 
climax. 

A   characteristic   obstacle   prevented   the 


120  YOUNG  JAPAN 

personal  leadership  of  Hideyoshi:  his  aged 
mother  sorrowing  so  that  she  could  not  eat, 
filial  piety  impelled  him  to  remain  at  home. 
One  of  his  two  commanders  was  the  Chris- 
tian general,  Konishi;  the  other  being  an 
unfriendly  rival,  named  Kato.  The  Japan- 
ese armies  were  everywhere  victorious,  even 
when  confronted  by  an  army  from  China, 
which  Korea  had  called  to  her  assistance; 
but  internal  dissensions,  originating  with  the 
two  rival  generals,  were  a  source  of  great 
weakness  with  the  Japanese.  Finally,  a 
truce  was  concluded,  of  course  without  Hide- 
yoshi's  knowledge  or  consent,  China  and 
Japan  arranging  the  terms  of  the  treaty, 
with  no  regard  to  the  helpless  little  bone  of 
contention.  It  seems  that  China  granted  to 
Hideyoshi  the  honor  of  investiture  over 
Korea,  while  Japan  on  her  part  agreed  to 
withdraw  her  troops  and  never  to  invade 
Korea  again.  But  the  peacemakers  reckoned 
without  their  host.  When  the  Taiko  heard 
that  his  authority  over  abject  Korea  rested 
upon  the  consent  of  another  country  that  he 
despised  with  equal  hatred,  he  flew  into  a 
rage,  and  came  near  killing  his  own  ambas- 
sador. He  straightway  opened  the  war 
afresh,  and  his  sanguinary  appetite  was 


ADOLESCENCE  121 

somewhat  satisfied  upon  the  receipt  of  a 
cargo  of  some  forty  thousand  pickled  ears 
clipped  from  the  heads  of  Korean  and  Chi- 
nese warriors.  These  relics  of  savage  war- 
fare were  buried  in  a  mound  at  KySto,  which 
may  still  be  seen,  surmounted  by  a  stone  mon- 
ument called  the  Ear-Tomb. 

This  ruthless  and  fruitless  warfare  was 
terminated  by  the  death  of  the  Taiko,  which 
occurred  in  1598,  his  last  words  forming  the 
prayer:  "Let  not  the  spirits  of  the  hundred 
thousand  troops  I  have  sent  to  Korea  be- 
come disembodied  in  a  foreign  land."  His 
ambitious  undertakings  appeal  to  the  imagi- 
nation alone.  The  true  reason  of  his  great- 
ness rests  upon  his  valuable  achievements  at 
home.  Besides  the  unification  of  the  country, 
he  erected  great  public  buildings,  dug  canals, 
built  bridges,  and  established  that  system 
which  developed  into  the  daimiate  of  the 
lyeyasu  Shoguns.  What  Napoleon  was  to 
France,  such  was  Hideyoshi  to  Japan. 

The  analogy  holds  good  even  in  the  matter 
of  art  spoliation.  Hideyoshi 's  Korean  cam- 
paign ravaged  that  ancient  kingdom  so  Ceramlci 
thoroughly  that  it  has  never  recov- 
ered. Porcelain,  for  example,  has  become  a 
lost  art  in  Korea,  because  her  great  ancient 


122  YOUNG  JAPAN 

potters  were  transported  bodily  to  Japan, 
and  her  own  manufactures  pre-empted. 
Japan  had  hitherto  made  but  little  real  prog- 
ress in  ceramics ;  but  no  sooner  had  the  Ko- 
rean teachers  arrived  than  the  imitative 
genius  of  the  people  exerted  itself  to  adapt 
and  outdo  the  masters.  Not  only  did  the 
delicate  art  appeal  especially  to  the  peculiar 
artistic  ability  of  this  nation  of  esthetes,  but 
they  had  material  ready  to  their  hands. 
"The  islands,  being  mountainous,  are  rich  in 
watercourses,  which  carry  with  them  great 
quantities  of  sand,  mixed  with  clay.  Thus 
the  nation  has  been  furnished  by  nature  with 
the  numberless  varieties  of  paste  which  are 
essential  for  good  pottery." 

Mr.  Sadakichi  Hartmann,  from  whose  little 
work  on  " Japanese  Art"  this  passage  is 
quoted,  reminds  us  that  Arita,  in  Hideyoshi's 
native  province  of  Hizen,  was  from  the  start, 
and  is  still  to-day,  the  leading  porcelain  man- 
ufacturing town  of  Japan.  The  ware  is  called 
Imari,  simply  because  Imari,  at  the  head  of 
the  Gulf  of  Omura,  is  the  principal  shipping 
port  for  Arita 's  products.  "The  larger  part 
of  the  pottery  produced  here  is  the  under- 
glazed  blue  and  white  combination  which 
made  Arita  famous,  and  which  was  success- 


THE  DECORATION  OF  PORCELAIN. 


ADOLESCENCE  123 

fully  imitated  in  the  Delft  ware. ' '  The  brill- 
iant Kaga  porcelain  is  almost  as  famous  as 
that  of  Arita,  while  the  Kudani  product,  with 
its  delicate  masks  of  enamels,  is  marvellously 
beautiful.  Satsuma  porcelain,  the  most  pop- 
ular of  all,  is  known  for  its  "soft,  cream- 
colored  tones,  which  have  almost  the  effect 
of  old  ivory,  with  delicate  color  decoration 
broken  with  pale  gold  tints."  But  Kyoto  is 
within  the  most  easy  reach  of  the  traveller, 
and — largely  for  this  reason — has  become  the 
chief  centre  of  modern  pottery  manufacture. 
Moreover,  it  is  famous  as  the  home  of  the 
great  artist  Ninsei  (seventeenth  century), 
who  ranks  as  the  greatest  potter  Japan  has 
produced,  and  whose  specialty  was  the  Awata 
faience.  Chamberlain  thus  summarizes  the 
other  notable  Japanese  porcelains, — ' '  the  va- 
rious kinds  of  Bizen  ware,  of  which  the  most 
original  are  humorous  figures  of  gods,  birds, 
lions,  and  other  creatures;  the  thin,  mostly 
unglazed  Banko  ware,  whose  manufacturers 
at  the  present  day  display  great  ingenuity  in 
giving  quaint  fanciful  shapes  to  tea-pots  and 
other  small  articles;  the  Awaji  faience,  con- 
sisting chiefly  of  small  monochromatic  pieces 
with  a  bright  yellow  or  green  glaze;  the 
Soma  pottery,  to  be  recognized  by  the  picture 


124  YOUNG  JAPAN 

of  a  running  horse;  the  egg-shell  cups  of 
Mino;  and  the  Takatori,  Izumo,  and  Yatsu- 
shiro  wares,  of  which  the  latter — especially 
in  its  more  ancient  specimens — are  very 
highly  prized." 

So  much,  at  least,  has  resulted  from  Hide- 
yoshi  's  ambitious  invasion  of  Korea.  But  for 
him,  Longfellow  could  never  have  had  that 
beautiful  vision  of  Keramos,  wherein  he 
sings : 

Cradled  and  rocked  in  Eastern  seas, 

The  islands  of  the  Japanese 

Beneath  me  lie;   o'er  lake  and  plain 

The  stork,  the  heron,  and  the  crane 

Through  the  clear  realms  of  azure  drift, 

And  on  the  hillside  I  can  see 

The  villages  of  Imari, 

Whose  thronged  and  flaming  workshops  lift 

Their  twisted  columns  of  smoke  on  high, 

Cloud  cloisters  that  in  ruins  lie, 

With  sunshine  streaming  through  each  rift, 

And  broken  arches  of  blue  sky. 

All  the  bright  flowers  that  fill  the  land, 

Ripple  of  wave  on  rock  or  sand, 

The  snow  on  Fujiyama's  cone, 

The  midnight  heaven  so  thickly  sown 

With  constellations  of  bright  stars, 

The  leaves  that  rustle,  the  reeds  that  make 

A  whisper  by  each  stream  and  lake, 

The  saffron  dawn,  the  sunset  red, 


ADOLESCENCE  125 

Are  painted  on  these  lovely  jars; 
Again  the  skylark  sings,  again 
The  stork,  the  heron,  and  the  crane 
Float  through  the  azure  overhead, 
The  counterfeit  and  counterpart 
Of  Nature  reproduced  in  art. 

lyeyasu  (1542-1616)  had  fought  under 
Nobunaga  with  Hideyoshi,  and,  although  he 
had  at  first  opposed  the  ambitions  of 

lyeyasu. 

his  associate,  the  two  became  and  re- 
mained firm  friends.  Several  years  before 
his  death,  Hideyoshi  had  given  into  lyeyasu 's 
keeping  the  whole  of  the  Kwanto,  comprising 
eight  subdued  but  unreconstructed  provinces 
in  the  very  heart  of  eastern  Hondo.  The 
shoreline  of  this  important  territory  included 
a  great  bay,  at  the  head  of  which  stood  a 
fishing- village  called  Yedo,  "the  door  of  the 
bay."  When  presenting  lyeyasu  with  the 
munificent  gift  of  the  Kwanto,  Hideyoshi  ad- 
vised him  to  make  his  headquarters  at  Yedo. 
He  accepted  this  advice,  and  from  his  castle 
above  the  fishing- village  dominated  these  tur- 
bulent provinces. 

Upon  the  death  of  his  friend  and  com- 
mander, lyeyasu  resolved  to  occupy  his 
place;  claiming,  indeed,  that  this  was  Hide- 
yoshi's  own  desire.  The  strong  princes  of 


126  YOUNG  JAPAN 

the  South  banded  in  a  confederacy  to  defeat 
his  ambitions,  and  he  found  himself  largely 
outnumbered. 

But  lyeyasu  was  a  veteran  general  of  great 
ability,  and  in  the  battle  of  Sekigahara  (A.D. 
Battle  of  1600)  totally  overcame  his  oppo- 

Sekigahara.       nentg>     Ag  ^  battle  Qf  ghimOnOSeki 

Straits  in  A.D.  1185  *  was  the  most  important 
naval  battle  ever  fought  by  the  Japanese,  so 
this  proved  to  be  the  most  significant  land 
engagement  in  their  history.  "By  this  bat- 
tle," says  Dr.  Griffis,  "were  decided  the  con- 
dition of  Japan  for  over  two  centuries,  the 
extinction  of  the  claims  of  the  line  of  Nobu- 
naga  and  Hideyoshi,  the  settlement  of  the 
Tokugawa  family  in  hereditary  succession 
to  the  Shogunate,  the  fate  of  Christianity, 
the  isolation  of  Japan  from  the  world,  the 
fixing  into  permanency  of  the  dual  system 
and  of  feudalism,  the  glory  and  greatness 
of  Yedo,  and  peace  in  Japan  for  two  hundred 
and  sixty-eight  years." 

lyeyasu 's  family  name  of  Tokugawa  was 
The  Tokugawa  taken  f  rom  the  village  of  his  im- 
Famiiy.  mediate  ancestors.  But  he  was 

able  to  trace  his  descent  to  the  famous  Mina- 

*  See  page  77. 


ADOLESCENCE  127 

moto  clan,  whose  posterity  had  furnished 
Japan  with  her  Shoguns  for  the  last  four 
hundred  years.  He  was  not  slow  to  take 
advantage  of  this  fact.  Three  years  after 
his  great  battle  was  fought  and  won,  he  re- 
ceived from  the  Emperor  the  imposing  title 
that  had  lain  in  disuse  for  thirty  years,  and 
founded  the  brilliant  dynasty  of  the  Toku- 
gawa,  which  endured  until  Shogunates  were 
forever  abolished  upon  the  restoration  of 
imperialism  in  1868. 

lyeyasu  signalized  the  beginning  of  a  new 
era  by  establishing  his  capital  at  Yedo  (now 
Tokyo),  just  as  his  great  progenitor,  Founding 
Yoritomo,  had  founded  his  power  at  ofT6ky6- 
Kamakura.  His  good  judgment  and  pro- 
phetic instinct  were  nowhere  more  clearly 
shown  than  by  this  deed.  In  spite  of  the 
jeers  of  his  critics,  he  foresaw  the  future 
greatness  of  this  "door  of  the  bay,"  and  set 
an  army  of  three  hundred  thousand  laborers 
to  work  in  the  sunken  marshes  or  upon  its 
towering  hills,  grading  streets  and  digging 
canals ;  building,  indeed,  for  the  future.  His 
faith  was  justified  within  the  next  half-cen- 
tury, for  the  new  capital  already  held  a  quar- 
ter million  of  inhabitants,  and  has  always 
remained  the  metropolis  of  Japan,  ranking 


128  YOUNG  JAPAN 

to-day — with  its  more  than  a  million  souls — 
among  the  great  cities  of  the  world. 

But  the  building  of  Yedo  was  only  an  inci- 
dent in  the  gigantic  plans  of  this  ruler.  He 
unification  brought  the  Shogunate  to  a  complex 
perfection  of  which  Yoritomo  and 
his  successors  had  never  dreamed.  Building 
upon  the  unification  already  achieved  byHide- 
yoshi,  he  so  parcelled  his  favors  among  the 
great  lords  as  to  strike  a  perfect  balance 
among  them,  thus  at  one  stroke  bidding  for 
friendship  and  making  their  enmity  harmless. 
His  three  daughters  he  married  to  powerful 
princes,  and  placed  his  several  sons  where  loy- 
alty was  most  sorely  needed.  He  remained 
scrupulously  true  to  the  old  theory  that  the 
Emperor  was  always  sole  ruler,  and  Kyoto  the 
only  real  capital;  but  he  surrounded  Kyoto 
in  such  fashion  by  strong  and  trustworthy 
princes  that  removal  of  the  Emperor  was 
made  impossible.  Further,  he  established 
easy  communication  between  the  two  capitals, 
building  a  great  road  to  cover  the  distance 
of  over  three  hundred  miles,  with  fifty-two 
stations  for  shelter  and  fresh  supplies  of 
every  kind.  With  minute  attention  to  detail, 
he  marked  out  the  width  of  all  roadways,  set 
up  signs  to  serve  as  mile-posts,  arranged  fer- 


ADOLESCENCE  129 

Ties,  and  provided  laws  for  the  regulation 
of  society.  It  is  doubtful  whether  any  ruler 
has  ever  accomplished  larger  results  in  an 
equal  space  of  time,  or  surpassed  him  in  fer- 
tility of  resources.  Wherever  there  were  two 
clans  whose  friendliness  he  could'  not  buy 
with  favors,  he  would  quietly  insert  a  loyal 
landholder  between  them,  whose  intervention 
effectually  hindered  intrigue.  His  ambition, 
unlike  that  of  Nobunaga  or  Hideyoshi,  was 
not  so  much  for  himself  as  for  his  succession. 
He  was  thoughtfully  founding  a  dynasty. 
Being  desirous  of  an  abiding  peace,  and  mind- 
ful of  the  avengeful  feelings  of  Korea  and 
China,  he  undid  so  far  as  possible  the  mis- 
chievous work  of  Hideyoshi  by  sending  an 
embassy  of  friendship,  who  secured  pro- 
fessions of  peace  in  return.  Then,  having 
accomplished  marvels  in  all  directions,  he 
was  content  with  two  brief  years  of  the  Sho- 
gunate  for  himself,  and — thoughtful  always 
of  the  future — retired  in  behalf  of  a  favorite 
son,  so  that  by  his  own  all-powerful  influence 
he  might  see  the  succession  firmly  established 
in  his  family.  Quietly  retreating  to  the  small 
city  of  Shizuoka  at  the  age  of  sixty-three  years, 
from  his  seat  there  he  kept  guard  over  the 
empire,  and  spent  the  remaining  eleven  years 

9 


130  YOUNG  JAPAN 

of  his  life  in  fostering  the  pursuit  of  the 
classics.  It  is  the  everlasting  glory  of  this 
man  that  he  laid  the  foundations  of  a  peace 
which  endured  for  two  hundred  and  sixty- 
eight  years.  No  other  nation  has  a  record 
like  that ;  and  it  is  all  the  more  amazing  when 
we  recall  that  it  ensued  directly  upon  a  mil- 
lennium of  bloodshed.  Japan  is  the  empire 
of  miracles. 

Under  the  rule  of  lyeyasu,  the  gradually 
forming  social  structure  of  Japan  suddenly 
The  ciass  crystallized  into  a  rigid  class  system 
system.  which  endures  in  essential  principles 
to  the  present  time.  For  convenience,  we  may 
say  that  there  are  four  great  social  classes  in 
Japan :  '  *  samurai, ' '  farmer,  artisan,  and  mer- 
chant, ranking  in  the  order  named.  The  word 
" samurai"  comes  from  an  ancient  verb  which 
means  "to  be  on  guard,"  and  was  first  dis- 
tinctively employed  with  reference  to  the  sen- 
tinels of  the  Emperor's  palace.  But,  finally, 
"samurai"  came  to  denote  the  entire  war- 
rior class,  of  whom  the  daimyo,  or  "great 
names,"  were  the  chief.  In  Japan,  how- 
ever, the  soldier  was  also  the  scholar,  the 
pen  being  companion  of  the  sword;  so  that 
the  samurai  class  possessed  the  double  dis- 
tinction of  scholarship  and  bravery.  The 


ADOLESCENCE  131 

great  men  who  wield  the  destinies  of  Japan 
to-day  have  descended,  almost  without  ex- 
ception, from  the  famous  samurai  clans- 
men. 

Next  below  the  warrior  class  came  the 
farmers,  always  held  in  a  certain  respect  as 
the  sturdy  tillers  of  the  soil.  When,  during  the 
peaceful  Tokugawa  period,  the  idle  samurai 
sometimes  degenerated  into  rowdy  and  dan- 
gerous swashbucklers,  companies  of  farmers 
banded  together  into  a  sort  of  volunteer  sol- 
diery, for  the  especial  protection  of  the  un- 
armed victims  of  the  strutting  gentry. 

Artisans  ranked  next  to  the  farmers,  and 
these  artisans  were  oftentimes  artists.  As 
we  have  seen,  Hideyoshi's  generals  brought 
back  famous  potters  from  Korea,  whose  Jap- 
anese disciples  soon  learned  to  excel  their 
teachers;  while  the  two-handed  Japanese 
sword  was  wrought  to  a  state  of  perfection 
that  has  scarcely  been  witnessed  elsewhere. 
The  farmers  and  artisans  are  creators,  and 
therefore  worthy  of  reverence. 

But  the  merchant  lives  by  exchanging  the 
products  of  others,  with  no  higher  motive 
than  money.  According  to  a  philosophy  that 
was  the  exact  opposite  of  our  own  sordid 
commercial  theories,  the  merchants  therefore 


132  YOUNG  JAPAN 

— and  all  who  dealt  merely  with  money — 
were  ranked  at  the  very  bottom  of  the  social 
scale. 

Such  were  the  four  general  classes  of  soci- 
ety. Above  these  classes  were  the  huge,  or 
court  nobility,  who  ranked  in  a  caste  above 
mere  mortals;  while  at  the  other  extreme, 
too  low  to  be  classed  as  human  beings,  were 
the  despised  eta,  the  outcast  pariahs  of 
Japan.  These  are  such  people  as  butchers 
or  tanners,  who  have  to  do  with  the  taking 
of  life ;  and  the  disdain  with  which  they  are 
treated  probably  arose  from  the  Buddhist 
prohibition  against  the  slaughter  of  animals. 

The  real  rulers  of  Japan  were  the  daimyo, 
or  chief  of  the  samurai.  These  were  the  lords 
of  large  manors,  holding  their  hands  in  fief 
to  the  Shogun.  lyeyasu  himself  was  simply 
chief  of  all  the  daimyo,  as  the  name  Shogun 
implies;  and  by  means  of  a  perfected  or- 
ganization, radiating  from  him  as  the  centre, 
he  was  able  to  reach  every  point  in  the  cir- 
cumference of  his  empire. 

It  must  not  be  thought  that  the  prolonged 
peace  which  he  brought  upon  Japan 

Turbulence.  .  ^         •    «f* 

impoverished  the  martial  spirit  or 
his  people.  Actual  warfare  is  absent  from 
the  annals  of  the  country  between  A.D.  1600 


ADOLESCENCE  133 

and  1868,  but  the  warrior-subjects  never  al- 
lowed their  sword  to  lose  its  cunning  or  their 
spears  to  rust.  As  already  intimated,  many 
of  the  samurai  became  mere  bullies  and  row- 
dies, a  terror  to  their  unarmed  neighbors. 
It  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  a  two-sworded 
dandy  suddenly  to  draw  his  blade  upon  some 
poor  farmer  digging  by  the  roadside,  merely 
to  try  its  mettle ;  while  an  occasional  test  of 
the  excellence  of  the  steel  was  to  pile  three 
human  bodies  one  upon  another  and  cleave 
them  through  at  one  stroke.  Mr.  Mitford's 
"Tales  of  Old  Japan"  abound  in  blood- 
curdling incidents  which  go  to  prove  that 
Japan  under  Tokugawa  rule  was  far  from 
being  a  paradise  of  peace.  The  most  famous 
of  these  stories  is  that  of  the  "Forty-seven 
Ronin."  There  is  no  space  to  quote  it  here; 
but  the  name  ronin  is  itself  significant,  de- 
noting as  it  does  the  "wave-men,"  or  wan- 
dering warriors  who  tossed  through  the  coun- 
try like  restless  billows,  causing  an  unceasing 
condition  of  turbulence. 

The  government  was  at  first  friendly  to  for- 
eigners, and  Hideyoshi's  suspi-  The  First 
cions  were  forgotten.  "The  land  **««*»«. 
swarmed  with  Catholic  friars  and  Catholic 
converts,  and  no  embargo  had  yet  been  laid  on 


134  YOUNG  JAPAN 

foreign  commerce. ' '  But  this  commerce  was 
controlled  exclusively  by  the  Portuguese  and 
Spanish,  the  Dutch  and  English  not  having 
yet  arrived  upon  the  scene.  It  was  during 
the  brief  rule  of  lyeyasu  that  the  first  Eng- 
lishman made  his  appearance  in  Japan  as  a 
resident,  the  same  being  a  venturesome  and 
shrewd-witted  sailor,  Will  Adams.  He  was 
pilot  on  board  the  bark  " Charity,"  of  the 
Dutch  East  India  Company,  which  was 
wrecked  off  the  coast  of  Kyushu  in  the  year 
1600.  Eight  of  the  crew  reached  the  shore 
alive,  all  being  Dutchmen  but  Adams.  They 
were  kindly  received  and  well  treated  in  spite 
of  the  unfriendly  efforts  of  the  Portuguese, 
lyeyasu  being  at  that  time  in  Osaka,  Adams 
and  one  other  were  conveyed  into  his  presence, 
and  the  pilot  spoke  a  good  word  for  the  Dutch. 
Adams  was  then  cast  into  prison,  where  he 
was  kept  for  more  than  a  month,  expecting 
in  due  time  to  be  killed.  The  Portuguese 
used  their  best  offices  to  this  end.  But 
Adams  tells  us,  in  his  quaint  English,  that 
lyeyasu  answered  them  and  said  that  since 
1 '  we  as  yet  had  done  to  him  nor  to  none  of  his 
lands  any  harm  or  dammage,"  it  would  be 
"against  Eeason  and  Justice  to  put  us  to 
death.  If  our  countreys  had  warres  the  one 


ADOLESCENCE  135 

with  the  other,  that  was  no  cause  that  he 
should  put  us  to  death. ' ' 

The  remainder  of  the  crew  became  scat- 
tered, but  Adams  remained  an  inmate  of  lye- 
yasu's  castle  in  Yedo,  where  he  amused  him- 
self with  amateur  ship-building.  This  fact, 
together  with  his  honest  and  straightforward 
character,  won  him  such  favor  with  the  Sho- 
gun  that  he  shortly  found  himself  the  pos- 
sessor of  a  large  estate,  "a  living  like  unto 
a  lordship  in  England,  with  eighty  or  ninety 
husbandmen,  that  be  as  my  slaves  or  ser- 
vants." He  never  returned  to  England,  but 
remained  twenty  years  in  Japan,  where  he 
rendered  great  service  fo  his  own  country 
and  also  to  the  Dutch,  being  buried  at  last 
beside  his  Japanese  wife  on  his  little  estate 
near  Yedo.  Undoubtedly,  it  was  due  very 
largely  to  his  influence  that  lyeyasu's  suc- 
cessor concluded  an  agreement  with  the 
Dutch,  in  spite  of  the  hostile  Portuguese, 
whereby  the  little  kingdom  of  Holland  re- 
ceived favors  that  gave  her  merchants  the 
exclusive  foreign  commerce  of  Japan  after 
that  empire  had  shut  its  doors  against  the 
world  in  1624. 

Doubtless  Christianity  was  the  cause  of 
this  singular  act  whereby  Japan  became  a 


136  YOUNG  JAPAN 

hermit  nation  and  remained  so  until  Commo- 
dore Perry  forced  her  gates  just  fifty  years 
Christian  ago — ;that  is  to  say,  Christianity 
Dissensions.  as  misrepresented  by  its  professed 
adherents.  The  favoritism  shown  to  the 
Jesuits  by  the  Pope  was  a  continual  vexa- 
tion to  the  Franciscan  and  Dominican  mis- 
sionaries, and  each  party  so  industriously 
calumniated  the  other  that  it  would  have  been 
wonderful  had  not  some  of  their  slanderous 
stories  been  at  length  believed  by  the  ruling 
powers.  This,  as  we  have  seen,  was  the  chief 
cause  of  the  incipient  persecution  under 
Hideyoshi.  In  lyeyasu's  tune  the  coming  of 
the  Dutch  and  later  of  the  English  intensi- 
fied the  activity  of  mutual  calumny,  for  the 
national  enmities  of  the  various  European 
nations  represented  in  Japan  were  at  this 
time  very  marked.  Every  foreigner  who 
gained  the  ear  of  lyeyasu  or  of  his  son  the 
Shogun  would  abuse  other  foreigners,  the 
Dutch  and'  English  warring  against  the  in- 
sidious designs  of  the  Jesuits,  while  the 
Portuguese  berated  the  Spanish,  and  both 
of  these  united  in  violent  abuse  of  the  Teu- 
tons. All  parties  were  variously  to  blame. 
Anjiro  had  said  to  Xavier,  when  first  they 
met,  that  his  people  would  not  immediately 


ADOLESCENCE  137 

consent  to  Christianity,  but  would  willingly 
investigate  its  claims,  and  above  all  would 
observe  as  to  whether  or  not  the  Christians 
practised  what  they  preached, — ''whether 
conduct  agreed  with  words."  What  hap- 
pened? When  the  Roman  Catholics  became 
established  in  Kyushu,  they  preached  the 
" gospel  of  peace'7  by  fierce  persecutions  of 
the  Buddhists.*  The  Portuguese  "  Chris- 
tian" merchants  sold  thousands  of  helpless 
Japanese  into  slavery, — "slaves  became  so 
cheap  that  even  the  Malay  and  negro  ser- 
vants of  the  Portuguese  speculated  in  the 
bodies  of  Japanese  slaves,  who  were  bought 
and  sold  and  transported."!  Nor  were  the 
Dutch  by  any  means  blameless.  The  im- 
mense disparity  between  the  creed  of  Chris- 
tians and  their  actual  deeds  must  have  be- 
gotten in  the  minds  of  patriotic  Japanese 
a  profound  distrust  of  foreigners.  At  any 
rate,  lyeyasu,  who  at  first  had  seemed 
friendly  enough  towards  the  Christians,  grad- 
ually became  so  prejudiced  against  them  that 
in  his  "legacy,"  or  will,  he  recommended 

*  Murray's  "  Japan,"  pages  241,  242.    "  Mikado's  Em- 
pire," Griffis,  Book  I.,  page  253. 
t "  Mikado's  Empire,"  Griffis,  Book  I.,  page  254. 


138  YOUNG  JAPAN 

universal  religious  toleration,  with  a  single 
significant  exception.  "High  and  low,"  he 
says,  "may  alike  follow  their  own  inclinations 
with  respect  to  religious  tenets  which  have 
obtained  down  to  the  present  time,  except  as 
regards  the  false  and  corrupt  school  (known 
as  Christianity)." 

So  early  as  1606  he  issued  his  first  warning 
on  the  subject, — for  albeit  in  nominal  retire- 
christian  ment,  he  remained  the  real  ruler 
persecutions.  Qf  foe  empire.  Recalling  Hideyo- 
shi's  decree,  he  noted  with  regret  that  many 
of  his  subjects  persisted  in  the  Christian 
faith,  which  he  advised  them,  for  the  good 
of  the  state,  to  renounce  and  forsake  at  once. 
But  the  Catholic  citizens  of  Nagasaki,  under 
the  leadership  of  foreign  priests,  showed 
their  contempt  for  such  warnings  a  few 
years  later,  by  a  spectacular  celebrati9n  in 
honor  of  the  founder  of  the  Jesuits,  Ignatius 
Loyola;  while  a  similar  jubilee  took  place 
in  the  neighboring  principality  of  Arima, 
whose  daimyo  was  a  zealot  of  the  faith.  This 
was  in  direct  violation  of  a  law  which  forbade 
precisely  such  displays.  Naturally,  lyeyasu 
was  enraged,  especially  when  he  discovered, 
as  he  supposed  (A.D.  1611),  the  existence  of 
a  conspiracy  among  foreign  and  Japanese 


ADOLESCENCE  139 

Christians,  directed  against  the  sovereignty 
of  the  empire.  Perfecting  his  plans,  he  is- 
sued in  1614  a  decree  that  commanded  the 
members  of  all  Christian  orders  to  leave 
Japan,  all  Christian  churches  to  be  demol- 
ished, and  all  converts  to  be  compelled  to  re- 
cant. Christianity  being  strongest  in  Kyu- 
shu, as  many  as  ten  thousand  troops  were 
despatched  thither  in  order  to  prevent  any 
revolt.  But  so  bold  were  the  Catholic  princes, 
that  in  this  very  year  the  daimyo  of  a  north- 
ern principality  sent  an  embassy  to  the  Pope 
and  to  the  King  of  Spain,  praying  for  the 
coming  of  more  missionaries. 

The  edict  was  rigorously  enforced  in  Kyu- 
shu. Churches  were  demolished  and  hun- 
dreds of  missionaries  deported,  while  the 
persecutions  of  the  native  Christians  are 
reported  to  have  been  "beyond  description 
horrible. ' ' 

lyeyasu's  anger  was  finally  wrought  to  its 
utmost  heat  by  discovering  that  the  Jesuits 
were  paying  significant  court  to  Hideyori,  the 
son  of  Hideyoshi,  in  his  lordly  castle  at 
Osaka.  The  survival  of  this  princely  heir  of 
an  older  rule,  which  still  had  its  fervent  ad- 
mirers, seemed  to  threaten  the  dearest  ambi- 
tions of  the  Tokugawa,  especially  in  view  of 


140  YOUNG  JAPAN 

the  ardor  with  which  the  Christians  were 
espousing  his  cause.  With  characteristic  de- 
cisiveness of  action,  the  aged  lyeyasu  at  once 
declared  battle  against  the  youthful  heir  of 
the  Taiko,  shut  up  in  his  castle  at  Osaka. 
After  a  protracted  siege,  a  battle  was  fought 
in  June,  1615,  resulting  in  the  death  of  Hi- 
deyori  and  his  mother,  with  the  destruction 
of  the  citadel,  and  the  complete  overthrow  of 
the  political  power  of  the  Christians.  The 
Jesuit  histories  say  that  a  hundred  thousand 
soldiers  perished  in  this  conflict,  and  that  it 
was  bloodier  than  any  of  the  terrible  pre- 
ceding wars. 

lyeyasu  died  in  the  following  year,  but  his 
son  continued  the  persecutions  with  a  still 
The  Reign  more  vehement  fury.  A  learned  stu- 
Of  Terror,  fa^  Q£  ^  per j0(j  *  has  graphically 

described  this  Japanese  reign  of  terror,  which 
recalls  the  utmost  cruelties  of  the  early  mar- 
tyrdoms in  Eome.  "We  read  of  Christians 
being  executed  in  a  barbarous  manner  in  sight 
of  each  other,  of  their  being  hurled  from  the 
tops  of  precipices,  of  their  being  burned  alive, 
of  their  being  torn  asunder  by  oxen,  of  their 

•Mr.  J.  H.  Gubbins  in  Asiatic  Society  Transactions. 
Quoted  by  Murray. 


ADOLESCENCE  141 

being  tied  up  in  rice-bags,  which  were  heaped 
up  together,  and  of  the  pile  thus  formed  being 
set  on  fire.  Others  were  tortured  before 
death  by  the  insertion  of  sharp  spikes  under 
the  nails  of  their  hands  and  feet,  while  some 
poor  wretches,  by  a  refinement  of  horrid 
cruelty,  were  shut  up  in  cages  and  there  left 
to  starve  with  food  before  their  eyes.  Let 
it  not  be  supposed  that  we  have  drawn  on 
the  Jesuit  accounts  solely  for  this  infor- 
mation. An  examination  of  the  Japanese 
records  will  show  that  the  case  is  not  over- 
stated." And  Dr.  Griffis  adds :  "All  the  tor- 
tures that  barbaric  hatred  or  refined  cruelty 
could  invent  were  used  to  turn  thousands  of 
their  fellow-men  into  carcases  and  ashes. 
Yet  few  of  the  natives  quailed  or  renounced 
their  faith.  They  calmly  let  the  fire  of  wood 
cleft  from  the  crosses  before  which  they  once 
prayed  consume  them,  or  walked  cheerfully 
to  the  blood-pit,  or  were  flung  alive  into  the 
open  grave  about  to  be  filled  up.  Mothers 
carried  their  babes  at  their  bosoms,  or  their 
children  in  their  arms  to  the  fire,  the  sword, 
or  the  precipice's  edge,  rather  than  leave 
them  behind  to  be  educated  in  the  pagan  faith. 
If  any  one  doubt  the  sincerity  and  fervor  of 
the  Christian  converts  of  to-day,  or  the  abil- 


142  YOUNG  JAPAN 

ity  of  the  Japanese  to  accept  a  higher  form 
of  faith,  or  their  willingness  to  suffer  for 
what  they  believe,  they  have  but  to  read 
the  accounts  preserved  in  English,  Dutch, 
French,  Latin,  and  Japanese,  of  various 
witnesses  to  the  fortitude  of  the  Japanese 
Christians  of  the  seventeenth  century.  The 
annals  of  the  primitive  Church  furnish  no 
instances  of  sacrifice  or  heroic  constancy,  in 
the  Coliseum  or  the  Eoman  arenas,  that  were 
not  paralleled  on  the  dry  river-beds  and  exe- 
cution-grounds of  Japan." 

In  1623  lyeyasu's  grandson  acceded  to  the 
Shogunate — lyemitsu — destined  to  become 

the  next  greatest  ruler  of  the  line. 

He  relented  none  of  the  terrors  of 
the  persecution,  but  devised  and  encouraged 
others.  For  example,  the  Christians  in  that 
part  of  Kyushu  where  hot  springs  abound 
were  plunged  into  the  scalding  water  or  suf- 
focated in  the  sulphurous  fumes  until  they 
were  perishing  from  weakness,  when  their 
sufferings  were  relaxed  so  that  they  might 
be  victimized  repeatedly.  A  refinement  of 
this  particular  form  of  persecution  provided 
that  the  martyr's  back  should  be  gashed  with 
swords  and  the  steaming  water  dashed  di- 
rectly upon  the  raw  flesh.  "Other  cases  are 


ADOLESCENCE  143 

recorded  too  horrible  to  be  related,  and  which 
only  the  ingenuity  of  hell  could  have  de- 
vised. ' ' 

It  was  at  this  time  that  the  ceremony  of 
"trampling  on  the  cross"  was  invented. 
Little  slabs  of  wood  or  of  brass  -  Trampling  on 
were  used, —  one  of  which  the 
writer  has  examined, — bearing  a  rough  im- 
age of  a  crucifix.  An  official  inquisitor  was 
appointed,  and  on  a  set  day  in  every  year 
each  household  in  the  neighborhood  of  Naga- 
saki would  be  invaded,  and  every  inmate  re- 
quired to  trample  on  the  cross.  In  cases 
of  refusal,  the  Christian  thus  apprehended 
would  be  given  over  to  the  executioners  of 
the  inquisition. 

But  for  all  this,  Christianity  could  not  be 
exterminated.  The  tenacity  with  which  the 
believers  held  to  their  faith  is  Thesnimabara 
strikingly  proved  by  the  fact  that  Massacre- 

when  the  Shimabara  Rebellion  occurred  in 
1637,  some  thirty  thousand  Christians  took 
part  in  it.  The  immediate  occasion  of  the 
insurrection  was  the  inhuman  cruelty  of  a 
dainty o  towards  his  tenants;  but  the  perse- 
cuted Christians,  driven  to  desperation  by 
so  many  years  of  suffering,  seized  the  oppor- 
tunity to  join  the  farmers  and  make  common 


144  YOUNG  JAPAN 

war  for  their  rights.  lyemitsu  sent  a  hun- 
dred and  sixty  thousand  seasoned  troops 
against  this  desperate  but  untutored  com- 
pany, so  that  the  pitiful  story  is  soon  told. 
The  thirty  thousand  victims  of  oppression 
found  themselves  beleaguered  in  a  deserted 
castle,  where  for  a  hundred  and  two  days 
they  defied  assault.  The  Dutch  traders  at 
Nagasaki  are  said  to  have  furnished  can- 
nonry  against  them.  When  the  castle  at 
length  fell,  on  the  12th  of  April,  1638,  every 
man,  woman,  and  child  was  put  to  death,  and 
general  persecutions  were  renewed  with  such 
vigor  that  Christianity  now  seemed  annihi- 
lated. We  read  that  above  the  door  of  the. 
deserted  castle  the  following  legend  was  in- 
scribed on  stone :  "So  long  as  the  sun  shall 
warm  the  earth,  let  no  Christian  be  so  bold 
as  to  come  to  Japan;  and  let  all  know  that 
the  King  of  Spain  himself,  or  the  Christian's 
God,  or  the  Great  God  of  all,  if  he  violate 
this  command,  shall  pay  for  it  with  his 
head."  A  special  body  of  police,  known  as 
"The  Christian  Inquiry,"  was  permanently 
organized,  who,  in  connection  with  the  Buddh- 
ist priesthood,  kept  the  closest  lookout  for 
Christians.  Large  sign-boards  were  placed 
in  every  village,  which  warned  against  the 


ADOLESCENCE  145 

hated  faith  with  heavy  penalties.  And  by 
action  which  lyemitsu  had  taken  in  1624,  all 
Europeans  were  banished  utterly  from  the 
empire,  so  that  Christianity  never  could  enter 
again.  The  only  apparent  exception  was  not 
an  exception  at  all,  for  the  Dutch  traders 
were  shut  up  on  a  tiny  island  in 

XT  i  •  i~       i.  -r.      i,-  j        The  Dutch. 

Nagasaki  harbor, — Deshima, — and 
rigidly  prevented  from  entrance  on  the  main- 
land. Only  two  ships  could  come  from  Hol- 
land in  a  year,  and  once  annually  the  traders 
had  to  pay  costly  tribute  to  Yedo.  Dr.  Gary 
tells  us  that  there  were  two  reasons  why  the 
Dutch  were  allowed  even  these  privileges: 
first,  because  the  government  considered  that 
it  owed  to  them  the  discovery  of  the  Jesuit 
plots,  one  of  their  captains  claiming  to  have 
intercepted  a  letter  to  the  King  of  Portugal 
asking  for  troops  to  effect  a  revolution ;  and, 
secondly,  because  the  Dutch  carefully  ab- 
stained from  all  profession  of  Christianity, 
as  acknowledged  by  their  own  historian, 
Kaempfer.  One  of  them,  being  taxed  with 
his  belief,  replied, ' l  No,  I  am  not  a  Christian ; 
I  am  a  Dutchman. "  It  is  said  that  they  even 
consented  to  trample  on  the  cross. 

So  it  was  that  Japan  put  up  her  bars,  and 

remained  for  two  hundred  and  thirty  years 
10 


146  YOUNG  JAPAN 

a  hermit  nation.  There  are  no  events  to 
record,  simply  because  nothing  happened. 
The  Hermit  It  was  a  season  of  mysterious 
Nation.  silence,  a  dull  winter  of  preparation 
for  a  dazzling  spring,  a  prolonged  period  of 
adolescence  during  which  those  forces  were 
slowly  maturing  that  made  "young  Japan" 
ready  for  the  lessons  of  manhood  when 
America  broke  down  the  bars.  To  trace  in 
some  slight  fashion  the  quiet  growth  of  these 
forces  will  complete  our  study  of  Japanese 
"childhood." 


ADOLESCENCE 

PART  SECOND 


THE  late  John  Fiske  was  the  author  of  a 
most  interesting  theory  of  childhood.  He 
claimed  that  the  prolonged  period  TheReai 
of  human  infancy  accounts  to  a  Meaning  of 

„  Childhood. 

great  degree  for  our  mental  supe- 
riority to  the  brutes.  Childhood  means  prep- 
aration. A  little  wolf  can  take  care  of  itself 
when  only  a  few  days  old,  whereas  a  little 
child  is  the  most  helpless  thing  in  the  world, 
and  remains  so  for  years.  But  this  helpless- 
ness, with  the  resultant  care  that  it  secures 
from  the  parents,  gives  the  child  opportunity 
for  pure  growth.  Throughout  the  long  pe- 
riod of  protected  infancy,  the  nerve-cells  are 
stored  with  a  largess  of  power  that  makes 
for  strong  manhood.  This  fact  of  a  length- 
ened infancy,  the  evolutionists  assure  us,  is 
one  of  the  greatest  boons  of  the  race. 

Whether  this  interesting  theory  be  true  or 
not,  it  serves  as  an  apt  illustration  of  what 
took  place  in  Japan.  There  can  be  little 
doubt  that  the  causes  of  the  amazing  prog- 

147 


148  YOUNG  JAPAN 

ress  that  Japan  has  made  in  the  last  fifty 
years  came  to  their  full  maturity  in  the  long 
silent  season  that  preceded:  that  reign  of 
profound  peace  and  of  eremite  seclusion  be- 
ginning .with  the  Tokugawa  Shogunate  and 
continuing  two  hundred  and  sixty-eight  years, 
or  until  Perry  came  from  the  West.  This 
gave  opportunity  for  the  dim  traits  of  the 
race  to  become  ineffaceably  deepened, — for 
those  vague  lineaments  that  had  begun  to 
form  in  the  womb  of  the  turbulent  past  to 
become  the  fixed  features  of  manhood.  The 
middle  ages  in  Europe  have  long  been  recog- 
nized as  the  matrix  of  modern  civilization, 
the  formative  period  of  the  present ;  but  this 
is  true  to  a  far  greater  extent  of  Japan.  The 
Tokugawa  age,  in  particular,  was  her  season 
of  character  building,  the  educative  age  of 
her  childhood. 

The  influences  of  this  period  so  wrought 
upon  and  developed  the  inchoate  national 
Ftve  tendencies  as  to  produce  five  fun- 

Fundamentai  damental  perfected  qualities  that 
account  in  large  measure  for  the 
wondrous  Japan  of  to-day.  These  attributes 
are  bravery,  loyalty,  thoroughness,  alertness, 
and  self-control.  The  first  two  are  qualities 
of  the  heart,  the  next  two  pertain  to  the 


ADOLESCENCE  149 

mind,  while  the  last  means  the  schooling  of 
the  will.  It  may  be  worth  while  to  consider 
briefly  the  manner  in  which  this  threefold 
culture  came  to  be. 

Bravery  has  always  been  the  chief  ideal 
of  Japanese  character.  What  beauty  meant 
to  the  Greeks,  and  right  to  the  Eo- 

7  °  Bravery. 

mans,  and  purity  to  the  Hebrews  of 
old,  bravery  has  meant  to  Japan.  A  man 
may  be  whatever  else  he  pleases,  but  if  he 
only  be  brave,  he  keeps  the  respect  of  his 
fellows,  and  may  even  become  a  demigod. 
An  old  proverb  runs,  "Among  flowers,  the 
cherry;  among  men,  the  warrior."  Every 
one  knows  that  the  cherry-blossom  is  queen 
in  the  "Flowery  Kingdom;"  so  is  the  sol- 
dier the  king  among  men.  In  the  middle 
ages,  the  development  of  bravery  was  under- 
taken with  deliberate  system;  and  in  the 
schools  of  the  Tokugawa  period  martial  ex- 
ercises were  made  a  part  of  the  daily  cur- 
riculum. This  was  of  a  kind  far  different 
from  the  training  in  the  military  schools  of 
the  West;  with  us  our  soldier-work  is  play, 
but  in  Japan  it  was  earnest  to  the  death. 
The  highest  test  of  physical  courage  is  the 
willingness  to  yield  one's  own  life;  and  the 
institution  of  hara-kiri  was  drilled  into  the 


150  YOUNG  JAPAN 

very  marrow  of  the  nation.  The  young  men 
at  school  "went  through  again  and  again  the 
tragic  details  of  the  commission  of  hara- 
kiri,  and  had  it  impressed  on  their  youthful 
imaginations  with  such  force  and  vividness 
that  when  the  time  for  its  actual  enactment 
came,  they  were  able  to  meet  the  bloody  real- 
ity without  a  tremor  and  with  perfect  com- 
posure." Even  the  women  were  taught  the 
equivalent  duty  of  jigai, — that  is  to  say, 
"piercing  the  throat  with  a  dagger  so  as 
to  sever  the  arteries  by  a  single  thrust-and- 
cut  movement. ' '  The  samurai  maiden  in  ser- 
vice was  bound  by  loyalty  to  her  mistress 
not  less  closely  than  the  warrior  to  the  lord} 
and  the  heroines  of  Japanese  feudalism  were 
many.  Judged  from  the  ethical  point  of 
view,  suicide  is  the  most  cowardly  of  crimes. 
But  the  Japanese,  blind  to  the  moral  aspect 
of  the  deed,  have  exalted  it  into  a  virtue  be- 
cause it  tests  physical  bravery.  And  the 
elaboration  of  suicide  into  a  national  insti- 
tution, practised  and  belauded  for  centuries, 
has  doubtless  done  more  than  anything  else 
to  make  the  Japanese  soldier  so  daring.* 

•  Mr.  Mitford,  in  the  Appendix  of  his  "  Tales  of  Old 
Japan,"  has  given  a  most  graphic  and  impressive  ac- 
count of  this  remarkable  ceremony  and  its  effects. 


ADOLESCENCE  151 

Next  to  bravery  itself,  the  quality  which 
the  Japanese  most  highly  prize  is  patriotic 
loyalty.  The  roots  of  this  virtue  were 
traced  in  the  first  part  of  this  book  to 
the  religious  tenets  of  filialism.  In  Oriental 
usage,  the  term  "father"  is  so  broad  as  to 
include  any  superior,  and  the  obligation  of 
filial  piety  becomes  the  more  intense  as  the 
authority  ascends.  In  the  schooling  period 
of  Japan,  the  retainer  was  taught  loyalty 
to  his  daimyo  by  the  most  heroic  methods. 
For  example,  upon  the  death  of  his  lord,  he 
was  to  be  ready  for  a  living  burial  for  him- 
self, only  his  head  remaining  above  ground, 
while  he  was  left  to  starve  slowly  to  death, 
and  that  without  murmuring.  Many  a  he- 
roic retainer  endured  this  supreme  test  of 
loyalty.  Kusunoki,  one  of  G-o-Daigo's  gen- 
erals, and  a  paragon  of  Japanese  patriotism, 
prayed  for  seven  lives  that  he  might  give 
them  all  to  his  master.  lyeyasu  and  his 
followers  succeeded  in  binding  the  daimyo 
to  the  Shogun  as  the  retainer  was  bound 
to  the  daimyo ;,  and  thus  Japan  was  welded 
into  a  unity  such  as  few  countries  have  seen, 
lyemitsu  compelled  all  of  the  daimyo  to  live 
at  the  capital  during  six  months  of  the  year, 
and  to  leave  their  wives  and  families  there 


152  YOUNG  JAPAN 

for  the  other  half.  The  daimyo  took  oath 
to  be  obedient  to  his  orders,  sealing  the 
pledge  with  their  blood.  He  assumed  the 
additional  title  of  Tai  Kun  ("tycoon"), 
meaning  "great  prince, "  and  it  was  re- 
tained by  all  of  his  successors.  But  the 
loyalty  of  retainer  and  daimyo  and  Shogun 
alike  was  ultimately  centred  in  the  Em- 
peror. Although  his  rule  seemed  often 
enough  to  be  no  more  than  a  name,  yet  his 
"heavenly  descent"  and  the  mysterious  se- 
clusion that  veiled  him  appealed  powerfully 
to  the  sentiment  of  the  people,  who  have  ever 
held  him  in  awe.  Thus  there  resulted  a  uni- 
fied organism  of  government,  based  upon  an 
ever  centralizing  loyalty,  which  endures  es- 
sentially to  this  day,  and  gives  Japan  a  power 
out  of  all  proportion  to  mere  size.  The  Em- 
peror is  the  soul  of  the  realm,  to  which  the 
whole  body  does  reverence;  the  Shogunate 
(now  supplanted  by  the  clan  ministry)  being 
the  brain,  while  the  masses  furnish  the  brawn. 
Loyalty  is  the  life-principle  that  binds  all 
into  a  common  whole,  for  loyalty  is  even  the 
law  of  the  Emperor,  who  worships  his  own 
ancestors. 

'The  Tokugawa  period  provided  full  oppor- 
tunity for  drill  in  the  habit  of  thoroughness. 


ADOLESCENCE  153 

lyeyasu  set  an  example  in  the  study  of  the 
Chinese  classics  that  was  eagerly  emulated 
by  posterity.  So  ingrained  has 

ni.'  i,  •        IT.        VJ.  Thoroughness. 

Chinese  become  in  the  literary 
language  of  Japan  that  no  one  can  mas- 
ter the  latter  who  does  not  know  also  the 
former.  Consequently,  a  Japanese  school- 
boy does  not  learn  to  "read"  until  he  is 
sixteen  or  seventeen  years  of  age,  because 
of  the  immense  multiplicity  and  complexity 
of  the  Chinese  ideographs.  That  is  to  say, 
where  an  American  school-boy  has  to  learn 
an  alphabet  of  only  twenty-six  simple  let- 
ters, the  Japanese  school-boy  must  master 
at  least  five  thousand  out  of  a  total  of  sixty 
thousand  ideographs,  most  of  which  are  ex- 
ceedingly complex,  and  many  of  which  are 
differentiated  only  in  the  minutest  particu- 
lars. But  consider  what  this  means  towards 
thoroughness.  Poring  over  these  "Chinese 
puzzles"  for  generations  has  had  the  effect 
of  emphasizing  the  native  tendency  of  atten- 
tion to  detail  until  thoroughness  has  become 
a  most  marked  characteristic.  Coupled  with 
an  inherent  esthetic,  which  the  Tokugawa  in- 
fluences fostered  into  exquisite  taste;  and 
linked  with  the  Oriental  habit  of  patient  in- 
dustry, Japanese  thoroughness  has  produced 


154  YOUNG  JAPAN 

the  most  minutely  perfect  specimens  of  art 
that  have  ever  delighted  the  world.  An  art- 
ist will  chisel  at  a  little  block  of  ivory  for 
years, — not  to  reap  pecuniary  reward,  but  to 
satisfy  his  passion  towards  perfection, — until 
at  length  you  hold  in  your  hands  a  tiny  figure 
which  is  a  microcosm  in  itself,  and  will  yield 
to  the  microscope  alone  the  completeness  of 
its  dainty  perfections.  The  same  is  true  of 
cloisonne  work,  and  of  the  exquisite  produc- 
tions in  lacquer.*  I  have  before  me  as  I 
write  a  napkin-ring  of  Kyoto  cloisonne  that 
is  less  than  two  inches  in  diameter,  with  a 
band  not  quite  an  inch  wide,  upon  which  T 
have  counted  seventy-eight  separate  designs, 
made  in  twenty  shades  of  color,  and  from 

*  "  Need  it  be  explained  that  cloisonne  is  a  species  of 
mosaic,  whose  characteristic  feature  is  a  thin  net-work 
of  copper  or  brass  soldered  on  to  a  foundation  of  solid 
metal,  the  interstices  or  cells  of  the  net-work — the 
cloisons,  as  they  are  technically  called — being  then  filled 
in  with  enamel  paste  of  various  colors,  and  the  process 
completed  by  several  bakings,  rubbings,  and  polish- 
ings,  until  the  surface  becomes  as  smooth  as  it  is  hard? 
.  .  .  with  a  wealth  of  ornament,  an  accuracy  of  design, 
a  harmony  of  color,  that  are  simply  miraculous  when 
one  considers  the  character  of  the  material  employed 
and  the  risks  to  which  it  is  subjected  in  the  process  of 
manufacture." — CHAMBERLAIN,  "  Things  Japanese." 


CLOISONNE  ARTISTS  AT  WORK. 
Inlaying  the  decorative  outlines. 


ADOLESCENCE  155 

at  least  four  hundred  pieces  of  metal.  It 
is  an  object-lesson  in  Japanese  thorough- 
ness. 

Now,  it  used  to  be  said  by  critics,  that  while 
the  Japanese  are  thorough  in  minutiae,  they 
lack  the  capacity  for  thoroughness  in  things 
that  are  really  worth  while.  It  was  pointed 
out  that  while  producing  ivory  carvings  at 
home,  they  had  to  send  abroad  for  their 
battleships.  But  the  critics  were  in  too 
great  a  hurry.  You  cannot  build  battle- 
ships without  a  shipyard.  The  nation  now 
has  its  docks  and  ship  factories  at  Yoko- 
suka,  where,  in  an  amazingly  short  space 
of  time,  Japanese  officers  have  so  emulated 
the  example  of  Peter  the  Great  of  Russia 
that  now  the  Japanese  are  beginning  to  build 
vessels  that  vie  with  those  of  any  nation  in 
the  world. 

If  any  additional  proof  were  needed  of 
Japanese  thoroughness,  it  has  certainly  been 
furnished  in  the  course  of  the  great  war  with 
Russia.  With  a  foresight  that  overlooked 
nothing,  and  with  an  attentiveness  that  scru- 
tinized everything,  they  planned  and  exe- 
cuted a  campaign  which  for  sheer  thorough- 
ness has  never  been  surpassed  in  human 
history.  Doubtless  the  school  in  which  they 


156  YOUNG  JAPAN 

perfected  this  priceless  habit  was  the  seclu- 
sive  session  of  the  Tokugawa. 

A  mental  quality  which  is  the  complement 

of  thoroughness  is  the  equally  valuable  habit 

of  alertness.     This  also  was  taught 

Alertness. 

to  an  already  nimble  race  until  they 
have  become  a  nation  of  "prestidigitators." 
Sleight-of-hand  is  nothing  but  a  dexterity  so 
rapid  that  .the  movements  are  lost  by  the  eye, 
resulting  in  effects  that  had  no  visible  cause. 
For  the  last  fifty  years,  Japan  has  played 
the  role  of  magician,  while  the  audience  of 
nations  has  gazed  open-mouthed  at  this  mar- 
vellous handling  of  great  implements  whereof 
the  little  land  had  but  now  been  altogether 
ignorant.  As  Lafcadio  Hearn  suggests, 
Japan  has  been  playing  jiu-jutsu  with  the 
complex  civilization  of  the  West.  This  is 
an  art,  or  a  science,  which  grew  out  of  the 
silence  of  those  hermit-days  when  Japan  was 
developing  her  peculiar  genius  to  perfection. 
It  is  occult,  but  its  mystery  is  the  mystery 
of  swiftness  coupled  with  scientific  skill. 
That  is  to  say,  jiu-jutsu  is  embodied  alert- 
ness. The  first  time  I  saw  it  practised  was 
on  the  grounds  of  our  old  college  campus, 
where  we  had  two  or  three  Japanese  stu- 
dents. One  of  them  was  standing  one  day 


ADOLESCENCE  157 

at  a  ball-game,  when  a  great  strapping  stu- 
dent from  the  backwoods  came  clumsily  and 
threw  him  on  the  ground.  The  dapper  little 
man  arose  smiling,  flicked  off  the  dust  from 
his  clothes,  and  quietly  bided  his  time.  No 
one  foresaw  what  was  coming.  He  waited 
until  the  big  bundle  of  brawn  stood  lost  in 
contemplation  of  the  game,  then  he  came 
swiftly  behind  him  and  with  just  a  flash,  just 
a  touch  that  was  nothing — there  sprawled  his 
great  foe  on  the  ground !  We  who  saw  it  were 
mystified,  but  the  big  victim  was  most  mysti- 
fied of  all.  He  had  felt  nothing  until  he  felt 
the  ground.  Later  on  I  witnessed  private 
exhibitions  in  Japan,  but  came  away  hardly 
the  wiser.  It  is  remarkable  skill  in  anatomy 
joined  with  marvellous  agility, — it  is  not 
strength,  but  softness  and  swiftness, — it  uses 
the  strength  of  the  foe  as  the  strongest 
weapon  against  him, — its  name  calls  it  "the 
science  of  gentleness."  Experts  in  jiu-jutsu 
appear  to  achieve  the  miraculous.  There  lies 
a  stalwart  antagonist  with  a  bone  broken,  a 
great  tendon  strained,  or  even  in  a  state  of 
suspended  animation :  how  was  it  done  ?  Not 
by  force,  but  by  swift  softness.  He  was  lured 
on  to  overreach  himself,  until  there  was  a 
sudden  invisible  nimble  flash,  and  it  was  over. 


158  YOUNG  JAPAN 

But  there  is  no  need  to  write  further,  for  has 
not  Japan  played  jiu-jutsu  with  Eussia  while 
all  the  world  wondered?  The  chief  secret  of 
her  brilliant  campaign  is  in  her  astounding 
alertness,  which  is  a  marked  characteristic 
of  the  race.  For  quick  receptiveness  and 
rapid  assimilation  of  mental  food  they  are 
without  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  world; 
the  will  springing  out  into  action  as  soon  as 
the  concept  is  formed.  "The  race  is  not 
always  to  the  swift,  nor  the  battle  to  the 
brave ; ' '  but  Japan  combines  the  boldness  of 
the  lion  with  the  swiftness  of  the  deer. 

It  is  of  no  use  to  school  the  heart  and  the 

mind,  however,  unless  the  will  also  be  trained. 

The  most  important  lesson  that  it 

Belf-Control.  •          i*  i        A      J  i    x  -A 

can  learn  is  self-control.  And  let  it 
be  remembered  that  Buddhism,  with  all  of  its 
errors,  brought  this  greatly  needed  lesson 
to  Japan.  The  Japanese  by  nature  is  in- 
tensely individual, — impatient  of  restraint, 
impetuous,  restive,  headlong, — eager  to  live 
his  own  life  in  his  own  way,  to  fulfil  the 
mission  of  the  individual,  heedless  of  the 
welfare  of  the  race.  Buddhism  came  and 
laid  its  soothing  hand  upon  him.  It  bade 
him  be  still,  to  repress  his  desires,  to  seek 
his  Nirvana  in  extinction,  to  lose  his  one  life 


ADOLESCENCE  159 

in  the  All.  The  Japanese  has  never  been  a 
thorough  convert  to  Buddhism,  simply  be- 
cause it  contradicts  his  nature.  But  by  an 
age-long  familiarity  with  its  teachings,  which 
were  drilled  into  his  mind  from  early  child- 
hood, he  received  from  this  great  religion  of 
repression  precisely  the  will-discipline  he 
needed.  Unlike  the  phlegmatic  Chinese,  his 
impassiveness  is  not  innate,  but  acquired. 
"Childhood"  under  the  tutorship  of  Buddh- 
ism has  enabled  him  to  bridle  his  fiery  will 
in  such  fashion  that  he  guides  it  in  what 
direction  he  pleases.  When  at  length  he  came 
out  from  his  seclusion  suddenly  into  the  daz- 
zling arena,  it  was  to  this  Buddhistic  school- 
ing of  the  will  that  he  owed  the  strength  so 
to  restrain  himself  from  surprise,  and  so  to 
direct  his  wonderfully  developed  powers  of 
mind  and  heart  as  to  become  the  modern  won- 
der of  the  world. 

I  would  have  my  purpose  clearly  under- 
stood. I  have  not  attempted  to  write  in  gen- 
eral of  Japanese  traits, — that  has  already 
been  done.*  And  I  do  not  present  the  Jap- 
anese character  as  ideal.  Before  we  have 


*  See  the  chapter  with  this  heading  in  "  Japan  To- 
Day." 


160  YOUNG  JAPAN 

finished  this  book  we  shall  see  its  gross  faults, 
its  vast  needs.  I  have  simply  come  with  an 
open  mind  to  a  study  of  the  " childhood" 
age  of  Japan,  and  it  has  seemed  to  me  that 
the  peculiar  influences  of  that  most  peculiar 
period  tended  especially  to  develop  towards 
perfection  the  qualities  of  bravery,  loyalty, 
thoroughness,  alertness,  and  self-control. 
Long  experience  in  living  among  the  people 
confirms  this  judgment.  And  I  believe  that  it 
is  the  remarkable  combination  of  these  five 
great  attributes  of  national  character  that 
has  enabled  Japan  to  accomplish  the  seem- 
ingly impossible,  and  become  a  great  world- 
power  in  a  day. 

The  serious  depths  of  the  Japanese  char- 
acter are  often  concealed  from  superficial 
National  observers  by  an  ever-present  surface 
pastimes.  of  gayety.  In  the  opening  pages  of 
this  book  I  have  called  the  country  an  over- 
grown playground.  So  far  as  outward  ap- 
pearances are  concerned,  the  expression  is 
literally  true.  The  older  folk,  when  indoors, 
amuse  themselves  constantly  with  diversions 
similar  to  checkers  and  chess;  nor  do  they 
fail  to  take  active  part  in  the  almost  innumer- 
able festivals.  Much  of  the  time  is  spent  out 
of  doors,  in  quest  of  literal ' '  re-creation ; ' '  for 


ADOLESCENCE  161 

doubtless  a  great  deal  of  the  freshness  and 
alertness  of  the  Japanese  brain  comes  from 
the  fact  that  it  constantly  creates  itself  anew 
from  contact  with  nutritious  nature.  It  is 
a  gentle  kind  of  play,  however,  having  ex- 
tremely little  place  for  athletics,  but  much 
for  leisurely  conviviality.  The  theatre  is  ex- 
tensively patronized,  and  a  single  perform- 
ance will  sometimes  continue  for  days  in  suc- 
cession. The  audience  supply  themselves 
with  luncheons,  and  return  home  for  a  night's 
sleep  between  the  acts ! 

During  the  silent  years  of  the  secluded 
national  "childhood,"  the  games  of  childhood 
were  not  overlooked  in  the  pursuit  of  children's 
more  serious  issues.  New-year  espe-  Games, 
cially  was  always  a  time  of  festivity,  and 
continues  to  be  the  great  holiday  season  of 
new  Japan.  A  game  in  which  the  girls  always 
indulge  at  this  time  is  a  picturesque  version 
of  battledoor  and  shuttlecock,  played  in  the 
open  streets.  Clad  in  their  brightest  gar- 
ments, with  faces  powdered  and  lips  painted 
"until  they  resemble  the  peculiar  colors  seen 
on  a  beetle's  wings,"  they  play  in  brilliant 
groups,  tossing  a  shuttlecock' made  of  a  round 
gilded  seed,  ornamented  with  bright  feathers 

arranged  like  the  petals  of  a  flower.     The 

11 


162  YOUNG  JAPAN 

battledoor,  made  of  wood,  bears  upon  one 
side  the  carved  image  of  some  hero  or  hero- 
ine or  famous  belle.  The  girls  are  said  to 
be  especially  fond  of  this  game,  because  it 
affords  such  excellent  opportunity  for  the 
display  of  personal  beauty.  While  they  toss 
the  gilded  shuttlecock  to  and  fro,  their  teas- 
ing brothers  sing  a  song  to  the  wind  that  it 
may  blow  and  spoil  the  game,  while  the  girls 
themselves  sing  a  counter-petition  in  favor 
of  calm  breezes  for  their  favorite  out-of-door 
sport. 

But  the  winds  blow  strong  in  the  month 
of  March,  and  then  the  boys  have  such  fine 
fun  with  kites  as  can  be  found  nowhere  else 
in  the  world.  They  are  of  all  sizes  and 
shapes,  some  being  six  feet  square.  The 
traveller  is  often  startled  as  a  chance  glance 
skyward  will  suddenly  show  him  a  great 
floating  monster  silhouetted  vividly  on  the 
surface  of  the  blue  upper  sea.  A  favorite 
diversion  is  to  paint  two  kites  with  the  faces 
of  rival  warriors,  and  cause  them  to  duel  in 
mid-air.  A  tense  splinter  of  whalebone,  set 
in  at  the  top  of  the  frame,  utters  the  most 
blood-curdling  howls  as  it  vibrates  in  the 
wind;  while  the  cords  which  tether,  the  two 
duellists  are  stuccoed  for  several  feet  of  their 


ADOLESCENCE  163 

topmost  length  with  powdered  glass,  so  that 
they  saw  up  and  down  against  each  other 
until  one  or  the  other  kite  falls  to  the  ground, 
to  become  the  captive  of  the  victor. 

Thus  even  the  games  are  employed  to  in- 
crease  the   martial   spirit   of   the   children. 

Most  famOUS   Of  the   Sports  Of  this       Games  with  a 

sort  are  the  * '  Hundred  Tales ' '  and  Purpose- 
the  notable  "Trial  of  Pluck."  The  latter 
game  is  surely  well  named.  In  the  daytime 
a  company  of  boys  will  prepare  for  the  trial 
by  planting  a  number  of  flags  in  lonely  places, 
such  as  graveyards,  or  in  the  darkest  hollows 
of  the  nearest  haunted  valley.  Then,  night 
being  come,  they  assemble  and  recount  the 
most  awful  tales  of  horror  they  can  think  of, 
requiring  all  of  their  number  to  go  singly  by 
turns,  after  each  story,  and  bring  back  a  flag 
to  prove  pluck.  The  ' l  Hundred  Tales  "is  an 
in-door  variation  of  the  "Test  of  Pluck," 
and  may  be  played  by  boys  and  girls  together 
of  a  winter  evening.  In  a  distant  lonesome 
chamber  there  burns  a  dim  oil  lamp  having 
a  wick  of  a  hundred  separate  threads.  The 
party  sit  down  around  the  brazier  in  one  of 
the  living-rooms  of  the  household,  while  some 
expert  grown-up  story-teller  recounts  one  by 
one  a  hundred  gruesome  stories.  After  each 


164  YOUNG  JAPAN 

tale  is  told,  the  children  must  go  by  turns, 
and  singly,  to  bring  back  through  the  dark- 
ness a  thread  from  the  eerie  lamp.  As  strand 
after  strand  is  removed,  the  light  becomes 
dimmer  and  more  mysterious,  until  the  child 
on  whom  falls  the  unlucky  lot  of  removing 
the  hundredth  thread  almost  always  sees 
some  huge  imagined  nightmare  of  terror. 

Nowadays,  foreign  sports  are  making  head- 
way in  the  schools,  much  to  the  improvement 
of  the  Japanese  physique.  Baseball  is  the 
most  popular  of  all,  and  the  stranger  some 
day  discovers  that  the  loud  cry  of  the  queer 
word  ' '  Ow-toe ! ' '  which  continually  resounds 
on  the  diamond,  is  simply  the  japanned  form 
of  our  "out."  One  day  I  heard  the  captain 
of  a  steam-launch  give  his  engineer  the  mys- 
terious shouted  order,  ' '  0-rai-go-haid ! ' '  and 
discovered  that  the  steamboat  lingo  is  in  this 
case  a  revised  edition  of  our  commonplace, 
"All  right,  go  ahead!" 

The  great  play-seasons  of  the  year,  next 
to  New-year,  are  the  times  of  the  various 
festivals  in  the  towns  and  cities. 
In  the  old  Southern  city  of  Saga 
I  went  one  night  with  a  company  of  Japanese 
school-boys  to  what  might  be  called  the  cir- 
cus portion  of  the  fair-ground,  and  was  well 


ADOLESCENCE  165 

repaid  for  the  visit.  In  the  menagerie  de- 
partment of  the  circus,  the  star  attraction 
proved  to  be  a  meek  and  long-suffering  sheep, 
surrounded  by  an  open-mouthed  company  of 
admirers.  He  had  been  duly  caged  and 
chained,  being  placarded  as  a  very  dangerous 
animal  from  the  West.  Sheep  do  not  thrive 
in  Japan,  and  as  this  was  the  first  native- 
born  American  I  had  met  for  many  months, 
a  fellow-feeling  made  me  wondrous  kind. 
For,  to  tell  the  whole  truth,  I  was  made  to 
feel  sheepish  myself,  since  I  easily  divided 
honors  with  the  ruminating  ram  as  a  curious 
stranger  from  the  unknown  land  across  the 
rolling  sea. 

There  was  plenty  to  surprise  me,  however, 
in  the  "side  shows."  Here,  for  example,  sat 
a  dainty  little  girl  upon  the  floor,  while  a 
great  hairy  Ainu  from  the  North  leaped  in 
an  ever-narrowing  circle  around  her,  yelling 
like  mad,  and  brandishing  an  ugly  double- 
edged  sword,  until  finally  he  sliced  off  her 
head.  It  apparently  toppled  over,  while  the 
curtain  went  down,  to  ascend  an  instant  later 
and  show  us  the  dead  head  on  a  table,  with 
nothing  whatever  underneath.  The  curtain 
flew  down  once  more  and  as  quickly  ascended, 
when,  presto !  there  sat  the  same  smiling  little 
girl,  ready  to  have  her  head  sliced  off  again. 


166  YOUNG  JAPAN 

But  the  creature  that  fascinated  me  abso- 
lutely, so  that  I  had  difficulty  in  tearing  my- 
self away  from  the  creepy  thing,  was  called 
by  my  companions  "the  neck- str  etcher. "  It 
was  a  woman,  seated  on  a  platform  above 
the  audience,  and  smoking  a  tiny  pipe,  after 
the  fashion  prevailing  in  Japan.  Presently 
she  began  to  turn  her  head  from  side  to  side, 
very  slowly,  while  her  neck  grew  ever  longer 
and  thinner,  until  at  the  last  it  was  about  a 
yard  long,  and  no  bigger  than  the  neck  of 
a  goose.  Then  this  accomplished  lady,  al- 
ways reaching  up  to  her  ascended  mouth  and 
smoking,  placidly  closed  her  eyes  and  screwed 
her  head  down  into  its  place  again.  How  was 
it  done?  Ah,  but  that  is  another  story. 

Let  us  return  from  this  glimpse  at  the  play- 
ground to  trace  the  growth  of  classical  edu- 
Buddhistic  cation  in  Japan 's  period  of  * '  child- 
Education,  hood."  As  noted  in  the  opening 
pages,  Buddhism  was  the  earliest  patron  of 
Japanese  learning.  With  the  great  name  of 
Shotoku  Taishi  *  must  be  ranked  the  monk 
Kobo  Daishi  (A.D.  774-835).  Famous  as  a 
scholar  in  Pali,  Sanscrit,  and  Chinese,  his 
chief  distinction  consists  in  the  invention  of 

*  See  page  56. 


ADOLESCENCE  167 

the  Japanese  syllabary.  This  was  an  attempt 
to  simplify  the  written  language  by  the  sub- 
stitution of  an  "alphabet"  of  only  forty- 
seven  characters  for  the  sixty  thousand  Chi- 
nese ideographs.  It  was  a  most  noteworthy 
and  laudable  endeavor,  but  can  hardly  be 
called  a  complete  success.  For  there  are 
now  two  forms  of  these  characters,  "square" 
and  "flowing,"  which  must  be  learned  in 
addition  to  the  ideographs  by  one  who 
would  know  native  literature.  It  must  not 
be  forgotten,  however,  that  the  invention 
was  of  great  benefit  to  the  ignorant,  who 
may  at  least  learn  to  read  and  write  the 
simple  "kana."  Thus  this  Buddhist  monk 
may  properly  be  called  the  first  great  friend 
of  popular  education  in  Japan,  who  richly 
deserves  his  posthumous  name  of  Kobo 
Daishi,  which  signifies,  "the  Great  Teacher 
spreading  abroad  the  Law. ' '  This  name  was 
conferred  by  the  exiled  Emperor  Go-Daigo, 
a  hundred  years  after  the  monk's  death,  his 
original  name  being  Kukai. 

But  the  patron  god  of  Japanese  letters  is 
the  saint  known  and  worshipped  as  Tenjin 
(heavenly  god),  who  when  living  bore  the 
name  of  Michizane  (died  A.D.  903).  Coming 
into  prominence  as  the  teacher  of  a  future 


168  YOUNG  JAPAN 

emperor,  he  eventually  became  the  counsellor 
of  the  great  Daigo,  who  through  his  influence 
became  not  only  a  patron  of  letters,  but— 
as  we  have  seen — the  sole  mediaeval  emperor 
strong  enough  to  rule  alone.  Michizane  was 
one  of  the  greatest  scholars  of  his  age,  be- 
sides being  the  author  of  various  historical 
works.  But  his  political  power  brought  him 
into  disfavor  with  those  who  wished  to  con- 
trol the  court,  and  he  was  therefore  ban- 
ished to  Kyushu.  Here  he  used  to  ride 
about  on  a  cow,  and  a  recumbent  image  of 
his  favorite  animal  frequently  adorns  the 
temples  where  he  is  worshipped.  The  most 
notable  of  these  is  the  Kame-ido  in  Tokyo, 
famous  also  for  its  spring-time  beauty  of 
wistaria  blossoms.  (See  the  frontispiece.) 
His  annual  festival  occurs  on  the  twenty- 
fifth  day  of  June,  and  the  twenty-fifth  day 
of  every  month  is  devoted  to  his  memory  in 
the  schools.  School-children  still  pray  to  this 
patron  saint  of  scholarship  to  give  them  suc- 
cess with  their  books. 

The  arts  that  were  fostered  by  Buddhism 

not  only  reached  a  very  high  de- 
Buddhism 

and  Artistic     gree  of  perfection,  but  were  also 

diffused  throughout  the  nation  as 

during  no  other  period,  under  the  friendly  in- 


ADOLESCENCE  169 

fluences  of  the  long  peaceful  rule  of  the  Toku- 
gawa  family.  It  then  came  to  pass  that  every 
household  utensil,  even  the  most  trifling  ob- 
ject, was  in  respect  of  design  an  object  of 
art.  "Even  such  articles  of  common  use  as 
a  bronze  candlestick,  a  brass  lamp,  an  iron 
kettle,  a  paper  lantern,  a  bamboo  curtain,  a 
wooden  pillow,  a  wooden  tray,  will  reveal  to 
educated  eyes  a  sense  of  beauty  and  fitness 
entirely  unknown  to  Western  cheap  produc- 
tion. Then  also  was  developed  the  art  of 
illustration;  then  came  into  existence  those 
wonderful  color-prints  (the  most  beautiful 
made  in  any  age  or  country)  which  are  now 
so  eagerly  collected  by  wealthy  dilettanti." 
But  it  was  especially  the  arts  of  carving 
and  of  lacquer-work  that  came  to  their  high- 
est fruition  at  this  period.  The 

\Vood -O&rvin  & 

Buddhist  temples  at  Nikko,  me- 
morials of  lyeyasu  and  lyemitsu,  are  espe- 
cially lavish  in  artistic  adornment.  There 
may  be  seen  three  wooden  figures  from  the 
hand  of  Hidari  Jingoro,  or  Jingoro  ' '  the  left- 
handed"  (A.D.  1594-1634)  that  rank  among 
the  chief  art  treasures  of  the  world — for 
their  creator  has  been  styled  "the  Japanese 
Phidias."  One  of  these  three  figures  is  a 
marvellous  sleeping  cat,  wherein  the  artist 


170  YOUNG  JAPAN 

has  achieved  the  extremely  difficult  feat  of 
setting  forth  in  unresponsive  wood  the  "fine 
and  very  delicate  distinction  between  death 
and  sleeping  life."  Many  legends  attest  his 
almost  superhuman  skill,  and  his  influence 
may  still  be  seen  in  those  dainty  ivory 
carvings  that  have  made  the  disciples  of  his 
craft  famous  throughout  the  world. 

Another  wood-carver  of  immortal  great- 
ness belonged  to  this  same  seventeenth  cen- 
tury— Ogawa  Eitsuwo  by  name. 

Lacquer-Work.  *  J 

But  he  derives  distinctive  pre- 
eminence from  his  skill  in  lacquer-work, 
which  has  been  called  the  noblest  of  Japanese 
crafts.  In  the  Tokugawa  period  this  hitherto 
somewhat  crude  branch  of  industry  sprang 
rapidly  into  a  very  extensive  development. 
Nearly  every  daimyo  then  had  his  court  lac- 
querer,  Dr.  Griffis  informs  us,  and  a  set  of 
lacquered  furniture  was  an  essential  posses- 
sion of  every  noble  lady.  "On  the  birth  of  a 
daughter,  it  was  common  for  the  lacquer 
artist  to  begin  the  making  of  a  mirror-case, 
a  washing-bowl,  a  cabinet,  a  clothes-rack,  or 
a  chest  of  drawers,  often  occupying  from  one 
to  five  years  on  a  single  article.  An  inro,  or 
pill-box,  might  require  several  years  of  per- 
fection, though  small  enough  to  go  into  a 


ADOLESCENCE  171 

fob.  By  the  time  the  young  lady  was  mar- 
riageable, her  outfit  of  lacquer  was  superb.'* 
Hartmann  gives  us  the  following  brief  ac- 
count of  this  industry:  "The  Japanese  lac- 
quer varnish  is  gathered  from  the  urushi- 
tree,  which,  it  is  said,  supplies  a  finer  gum 
than  that  of  any  other  species.  It  is  sub- 
jected to  various  manipulations  and  refining 
processes  before  it  can  safely  be  mixed  with 
coloring  matter.  From  the  first  gathering  to 
the  last  application,  increasing  care  as  to  the 
dryness  or  moisture  of  the  atmosphere,  the 
exclusion  of  every  particle  of  dust,  and  other 
conditions,  are  essential.  The  workmen  are 
'in  possession  of  secret  processes,'  and  we 
must  be  satisfied  with  knowing  that  layer 
after  layer — up  to  fifty  coats — of  the  lacquer 
varnish  are  laid  on  the  basic  material  at  inter- 
vals of  days  or  weeks,  and  that  after  it  has 
thoroughly  dried — and,  by  a  strange  para- 
dox, it  must  dry  in  dampness,  well  moistened, 
or  even  saturated  with  water,  else  it  will  run 
or  stick — the  same  smoothing  process  with 
lumps  of  charcoal  and  the  fingers,  after  all 
the  most  perfect  polishing  instruments,  is  re- 
peated. The  articles  to  be  lacquered  are  gen- 
erally made  of  fine-grained  pine  wood,  very 
carefully  seasoned  and  smoothed,  so  that  not 


172  YOUNG  JAPAN 

the  slightest  inequality  of  surface  or  rough- 
ness of  edge  remains.  But  also  silk,  ivory, 
and  tortoise-shell  are  used.  In  the  finer  and 
older  specimens,  bringing  their  weight  in 
gold,  the  varnish  is  so  hard  and  immune  that 
neither  boiling  water  nor  boiling  oil  will  affect 
its  surface."  This  should  be  cleaned,  how- 
ever, only  with  a  fine  silk  cloth.  We  are  told 
that  some  of  the  finest  collections  in  Europe 
have  been  ruined  by  the  use  of  a  common 
feather-duster. 

The  Buddhist  temples  of  the  Tokugawa 
period  not  only  abound  in  exquisite  carving 
and  lacquer-work,  but  also  afford  the  highest 
examples  of  the  development  of  Japanese 
architecture.  More  accurately  speaking,  the 
Buddhism  and  development  of  the  strictly  native 
Architecture.  architecture  is  to  be  seen  in  the 
simple  Shinto  temples,  with  their  peculiar  ex- 
terior ridge-poles  held  down  by  cigar-shaped 
cross-beams  at  either  end,  and  the  invariable 
graceful  torii  in  front — these  peculiar  gate- 
ways having  been  anciently  built  as  perches 
for  the  sacred  birds;  but  in  the  Buddhist 
temple  the  Japanese  have  once  more  taken 
up  a  foreign  form  and  made  it  peculiarly 
their  own.  "In  the  Buddhist  temples  the 
marvellous  instinct  of  the  Japanese  for 


ADOLESCENCE  173 

grouping  and  color  lias  had  full  sway.  The 
first  building  in  a  Buddhist  shrine  which  as- 
serts itself  is  the  sammon,  or  two-storied  gate- 
way, resembling  in  the  distribution  of  its 
upper  story  the  'gates  of  extensive  wisdom,' 
etc.,  in  the  noble  official  residences  of  Korea. 
The  framing  of  the  lower  story,  however,  is 
arranged  so  as  to  form  niches,  in  which  stand 
frequently  the  God  of  Thunder  and  the  Wind 
Deity,  the  face  of  one  being  always  painted  a 
livid  green,  that  of  the  other  a  deep  vermil- 
ion, as  though  congested.  Passing  through 
the  sammon  the  visitor  finds  himself  in  the 
first  terraced  court,  only  to  encounter  another 
gateway,  more  imposing  than  the  last,  lead- 
ing to  a  second  court,  and  so  on  to  a  third, 
until  by  traversing  terrace  after  terrace  he 
at  length  reaches  the  oratory  and  chapel. 
These  court-yards  are  usually  filled  with  all 
the  concomitant  buildings  of  the  Buddhist 
cult,  as  well  as  with  a  number  of  bronze  and 
stone  lanterns  presented  by  the  daimyos  in 
token  of  repentance  for  past  sins.  Belfries, 
priests'  apartments,  a  rlnzo,  or  revolving 
library,  a  kitchen,  a  treasure-house,  a  pavil- 
ion containing  the  holy-water  cistern,  and 
pagodas  rise  on  either  hand  throughout,  all 
crowned  with  festooned  roofs,  beautifully 


174  YOUNG  JAPAN 

carved  and  lacquered,  embellished  with  stat- 
uary, and  covered  with  ornaments  in  wood, 
bronze,  and  ivory,  representing  gods,  drag- 
ons, birds,  lions,  tapirs,  unicorns,  elephants, 
tigers,  flowers,  and  plants, — in  fact,  every 
symbol  known  to  the  Japanese,  whether  origi- 
nal, or  borrowed  from  the  Chinese  or  Ko- 
reans. Among  the  most  important  of  the 
supplementary  buildings  are  the  pagodas, 
which  are  invariably  square,  like  those  of 
Korea.  They  are  usually  divided  into  five  or 
seven  stories,  each  set  a  little  within  the  one 
below,  and  girt  about  with  balconies  and  over- 
hanging eaves,  as  in  China.  The  whole  is 
usually  lacquered  in  dull  red,  save  the  lowest 
story,  on  which  a  bewildering  mass  of  painted 
carvings  distracts  the  eye,  while  high  above 
all  a  twisted  spire  of  bronze  forms  the  cul- 
mination. ' ' 

We  are  told  that  when  Dr.  Dresser,  author 
of  "Art  and  Art  Industries  in  Japan,"  was 

. .    fc         studying  the  temple  architecture 

Architecture  * 

and  of  the  country,  he  noted  with  sur- 

prise an  apparent  waste  of  mate- 
rial in  the  magnificent  pagoda  at  Nikko.  ' '  He 
did  not  understand  why  an  enormous  log 
of  wood  ascended  in  the  centre  of  the  struct- 
ure from  its  base  to  the  apex.  This  mass  of 


ADOLESCENCE  175 

timber,  he  tells  us,  is  nearly  two  feet  in  diam- 
eter, and  near  the  lower  end  a  log  equally 
large  is  bolted  to  each  of  the  four  sides  of 
this  central  mass.  His  argument  of  the  waste 
of  material  was  met  by  the  rejoinder  that  the 
walls  must  be  strong  enough  to  support  the 
central  block;  and  upon  his  replying  that 
the  central  block  was  not  supported  by  the 
sides,  he  was  led  to  the  top,  and  there  made 
to  see  that  this  huge  central  mass  was  sus- 
pended like  the  clapper  of  a  bell.  On  descend- 
ing to  the  bottom,  and  lying  on  the  ground, 
he  could  see,  further,  that  there  was  an  inch 
of  space  intervening  between  the  soil  and  this 
mighty  pendulum,  which  goes  far  towards 
securing  the  safety  of  the  building  during 
earthquakes.  For  centuries  this  centre  of 
gravity  has,  by  its  swinging,  been  kept  within 
the  base;  and  it  would  assuredly  be  impos- 
sible to  adduce  stronger  evidence  of  scien- 
tific forethought  and  calculation  on  the  part 
of  architects  in  dealing  with  a  problem  of 
extreme  difficulty." 

In  feudal  times,  the  castle  of  the  daimyo 
was  wrought  to   a  high  degree 
of  architectural  excellence,  with 
strong  traces  of  Buddhistic  influences.    The 
most  notable  remaining  specimen  is  that  of 


176  YOUNG  JAPAN 

Nagoya,  a  city  in  central  Japan,  constructed 
in  the  year  1610  as  a  residence  for  lyeyasu's 
son.  It  may  be  noted  in  the  illustration  that 
two  golden  dolphins  surmount  the  five-storied 
donjon.  One  of  these  was  sent  to  the  Vienna 
Exposition  of  1873,  and  on  its  way  home  went 
to  the  bottom  of  the  ocean  in  consequence  of 
a  shipwreck.  At  length  it  was  recovered,  but 
with  the  greatest  difficulty,  and  restored  to 
its  original  situation,  much  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  Japanese.  These  two  ornaments  meas- 
ure eight  and  a  half  feet  in  height,  being  val- 
ued at  $180,000.  The  dolphin,  it  may  be  re- 
marked, is  a  Buddhist  symbol. 

Thus  for  many  centuries  the  educational 
forces  of  Japan  were  entirely  under  Buddh- 
ist control.  The  monasteries  were  the  first 
schools,  and  the  monks  were  unfailing  peda- 
gogues. The  state  was  utterly  negligent  of 
the  intellectual  culture  of  the  people,  and  re- 
ligion seized  her  golden  opportunity.  The 
temples  throughout  the  whole  country  were 
converted  into  primary  schools  for  all  classes, 
and  in  the  long  period  of  the  destructive  civil 
wars,  culture  would  have  been  absolutely  lost 
had  not  the  priests  acted  as  its  guardians. 
Not  only  so,  but  as  with  Europe  in  the  dark 
ages,  so  also  in  Japan  the  monks  became 


ADOLESCENCE  177 

practical  civilizers.  "By  the  Buddhist 
priests  many  streams  were  spanned  with 
bridges,  paths  and  roads  made,  shade  or  fruit 
trees  planted,  ponds  and  ditches  for  purposes 
of  irrigation  dug,  aqueducts  built,  unwhole- 
some localities  drained,  and  mountain  passes 
discovered  or  explored. ' '  Little  wonder  that, 
as  Mr.  Lewis  tells  us,  "before  the  end  of  the 
sixteenth  century  Buddhism  had  indelibly 
stamped  itself  on  the  language  as  well  as 
the  literature  of  Japan.  The  phraseology  of 
the  Japanese  people  was  influenced  by  the 
Sutras  somewhat  as  our  language  has  been 
influenced  by  the  Bible." 

With  the  coming  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, and  the  advent  of  the  Tokugawa  Sho- 
gunate,  Buddha  began  to  be  dis-  Confucian 
placed  by  Confucius  as  the  intel-  location. 
lectual  leader  of  Japan.  Buddhism  retained 
its  external  dominion,  but  with  characteristic 
plasticity  accommodated  itself  to  the  Confu- 
cianist  revival  led  by  lyeyasu,  and  began  to 
teach  the  "Four  Books"  instead  of  the  Su- 
tras. This  remained  the  substance  of  edu- 
cation throughout  the  Tokugawa  rule;  and 
we  see  in  the  Confucian  revival  another  evi- 
dence of  lyeyasu 's  statecraft.  For  Confu- 
cianism has  been  tersely  described — not  as 

12 


178  YOUNG  JAPAN 

a  religion,  which  it  most  certainly  is  not— 
but  as  "a  common  ethico-political  bond  en- 
abling millions  of  human  beings  to  be  gov- 
erned from  one  centre."  This  fell  in  per- 
fectly with  the  plans  of  lyeyasu,  and  there 
is  no  telling  how  much  of  the  success  of  the 
Tokugawa  Shogunate  is  due  to  the  popular 
instillation  of  Confucianist  ideas.  The  edi- 
tor and  translator  of  the  English  edition  of 
the  "Analects"  has  told  us  that  "Confucius 
was  no  transcendentalist ;  he  never  troubled 
himself  over  such  matters  as  first  causes, 
scarcely  ever  dealt  with  anything  in  the 
abstract,  knew  nothing  about  science,  and 
not  as  much  as  one  of  our  young  school- 
boys about  the  physical  universe."  Yet 
his  system  was  most  arrogantly  rigid,  as 
he  laid  down  his  rules  for  the  race.  He 
has  been  called  the  Aristotle  of  Asia,  whose 
iron  mould  has  produced  in  China  for  the 
last  two  thousand  years  inflexible  uniformity 
of  thought-processes,  and  prohibited  origi- 
nality. 

The  moral  effects  of  Confucianism  do  not 
speak  any  better  for  his  system.  While  the 
supreme  doctrine  of  chuko  (fidelity  to  a 
master  and  obedience  to  parents)  has  had 
much  to  do  with  the  perfection  of  Japanese 


ADOLESCENCE  179 

loyalty,  as  manifested  in  the  national  senti- 
ment of  Bushido,  the  people  seem  to  have 
achieved  their  other  virtues  rather  in  spite 
of  Confucius  than  because  of  him.  To  his 
distinctly  sceptical  character  may  be  traced 
the  present  sceptical  attitude  of  the  Japan- 
ese people;  while,  in  view  of  his  degrading 
doctrine  of  woman,  it  is  remarkable  that  they 
should  treat  her  with  any  consideration  at 
all.  A  French  scholar  does  no  injustice 
whatever  when  he  brings  the  scathing  in- 
dictment— "Egoism,  trickery,  oppression  of 
women  and  children,  the  prostitution  of 
young  girls,  divorce  laws  for  the  benefit 
of  men  alone, — all  these  and  many  other 
facts  are  legitimate  deductions  from  the 
Conf ucianist  morality. ' ' 

For  two  hundred  and  fifty  years,  the 
Buddhist  priests  being  his  school-masters, 
Confucius  was  the  iron-handed  men- 

The  Result 

tor  of  Japan.  Consequently,  West- 
ern education  had  to  take  up  its  fight  * '  against 
a  flat,  rectangular  world,  against  a  stationary 
plain  with  a  gyrating  sun,  against  alchemy, 
geomancy,  astrology,  and  mental  bondage," 
—to  say  nothing  of  moral  obliquity. 


BOOK  III 

MODERN  SCHOOL-DAYS 


MODERN  SCHOOL-DAYS 

PART  FIRST 

THAT  is  the  term  above  all  others  that  de- 
scribes the  experience  of  modern  Japan.  The 
long  period  of  Chinese  culture  was  a  season 
of  inner  development,  wherein  this  race  was, 
gradually  maturing  towards  the  ability  to 
receive  an  education  that  should  be  fitted  to 
their  strangely  un-Oriental  genius.  For  the 
East  is  by  nature  conservative,  and  Japan  is 
by  nature  progressive.  The  East  idolizes  in- 
stitutions, but  Japan  is  intensely  individual. 
Let  him  explain  it  who  can,  but  the  fact  is 
that  Japan  is  out  of  place  in  the  Orient,  being 
correctly  described  by  the  commonplace  para- 
doxical phrase  which  calls  her  the  yankeedom 
of  Asia.  Some  serious  scholars  have  con- 
tended that  her  people  are  indeed  kinsmen  to 
the  aboriginal  Americans,  and  that  they 
found  their  way  over  the  Pacific  by  means 
of  the  Arctic  chain  of  islands.  Certainly,  the 
Japanese  are  temperamentally  at  variance 
with  their  neighbors,  the  Chinese  and  the 
Koreans,  and  with  all  of  the  other  living 

183 


184  YOUNG  JAPAN 

races  of  Asia.  They  have  even  individual- 
ized their  environment.  Borrowing  the  civ- 
ilization of  China,  they  japanned  it  into  a 
product  of  their  own.  Welcoming  the  poetry 
of  Buddhism,  they  have  defied  its  nihilism 
with  scorn.  Petulant  of  the  interference 
of  aliens,  they  had  the  original  audacity  to 
lock  themselves  up  in  their  island  and  grow 
out  their  own  character  apart.  Then  when, 
in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  they 
suddenly  came  into  their  own,  they  threw  off 
the  shackles  of  Asia  at  a  bound,  and  leaped 
straight  into  the  freedom  of  the  West.  Their 
destiny  had  arrived,  and  they  knew  it.  They 
have  now  had  fifty  years  of  Occidental  school- 
days, and  they  are  lusty  with  the  cry, — 

"  Better  fifty  years  of  Europe 
Than  a  cycle  of  Cathay." 

What  shall  their  manhood  be? 

We  have  already  traced  the  general  prepa- 
ration of  the  Japanese  for  the  apt  reception 
special  of  Western  civilization,  and  have 

preparation.  found  it  to  consist  in  the  harmoni- 
ous  development  of  five  great  qualities  of 
character.  But  a  special  preparation  was 
also  taking  place  during  the  long  reign  of 
the  Tokugawa  Shogunate,  without  which  the 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         185 

Perry  expedition  could  never  have  been  suc- 
cessful. This  especial  preparation  was  of  a 
twofold  character,  being  both  intellectual  and 
also  political ;  these  two  streams  of  prepara- 
tory influence  finally  converging  precisely  in 
the  nick  of  time  to  afford  fair  haven  for  the 
ships  from  over  the  sea. 

By  the  irony  of  fate,  it  was  lyeyasu  himself 
who  first  unbound  the  streams  of  intellectual 
influence  that  finally  swept  his  suc- 

Intellectual. 

cessors  off  their  feet.  For,  as  we 
have  already  noted,  the  peaceful  years  of 
his  later  life  were  assiduously  devoted  to  the 
revival  of  classical  studies,  and  especially  of 
the  writings  of  Confucius,  whose  theories  of 
government  are  so  favorable  to  a  centralized 
system  like  the  Shogunate.  But  there  is  a 
cardinal  point  in  the  Confucianist  doctrine 
which  the  shrewd  Shogun  must  have  over- 
looked ;  namely,  that  there  can  be  but  a  single 
ruler  of  the  people.  This  ruler,  in  the  Con- 
fucian view,  is  the  Emperor;  and  China  nor 
any  other  country  save  Japan  has  ever 
known  such  a  strange  bicephalous  arrange- 
ment as  the  Shogunate.  In  theory,  of  course, 
the  lyeyasu  system  was  correct :  it  has  been 
shown  many  times  throughout  these  pages 
that  the  Emperor  was  always  theoretically 


186  YOUNG  JAPAN 

supreme.  But  as  the  classical  revival  brought 
about  by  lyeyasu  gained  ever  greater  im- 
petus during  the  prolonged  period  of  thought- 
ful leisure  provided  under  Tokugawa  rule, 
the  scholars  of  Japan  perceived  more  and 
more  clearly  that  the  classic  doctrines  which 
lyeyasu  had  first  taught  them  to  revere  are 
at  heart  opposed  to  the  political  system  that 
had  been  perfected  by  his  hands.  Nor  is 
this  all.  The  history  of  education  uniformly 
proves  that,  as  a  revival  of  learning  proceeds, 
the  ground  of  study  invariably  shifts  from 
foreign  to  domestic  fields.  Just  as,  in  Europe, 
the  unfettering  of  the  ancient  languages  led 
to  the  speedy  development  of  European  let- 
ters,— just  as,  in  England,  the  invasion  of 
the  Norman  culture  was  followed  by  a  liter- 
ary culture  of  our  own ;  so  in  Japan  the  study 
of  Confucius  soon  awakened  an  interest  in  the 
study  of  Japanese.  The  scholars  delved  into 
the  forgotten  depths  of  the  early  chronicles 
and  discovered  the  modern  origin  of  the  Sho- 
gunate.  They  perceived  that  the  original  gov- 
ernment of  their  country  was  a  pure  impe- 
rialism such  as  the  great  Chinese  sage  laid 
down  as  the  basis  of  all  rule.  They  learned 
that  the  native  religion  of  Japan  was  not 
Buddhism,  but  the  ancient  Shint5,  which  was 


MODERN    SCHOOL-DAYS         187 

at  one  with  the  doctrines  of  Confucius  con- 
cerning the  absolute  power  of  the  throne,  and 
knew  nothing  of  the  upstart  Shogunate.  As 
the  Tokugawa  family  fell  into  the  lassi- 
tude and  luxury  that  had  undermined  the 
strength  of  the  great  clans  before  their  day, 
the  samurai  scholars  chafed  more  and  more 
against  this  patent  and  unworthy  usurpation ; 
and  when  at  length  the  opportunity  came  to 
hand,  it  was  chiefly  by  the  force  of  education 
that  the  Shogunate  was  forever  overthrown. 
"Knowledge  is  power."  In  this  case  it  was 
doubly  powerful,  because  it  begot  an  intelli- 
gent patriotism  in  the  most  brave  and  loyal 
people  of  Asia,  with  whom  devotion  to  their 
Emperor  and  to  his  rights  became  the  rally- 
ing-cry  that  set  him  on  a  real  throne.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  any  other  nation  owes  so 
much  to  the  revolutionizing  power  of  educa- 
tion. It  was  an  educational  revolution,  under 
the  leadership  of  Shotoku  Taishi,  that 
moulded  the  history  of  Japan  for  thirteen 
centuries.  The  present  era,  which  will  be 
linked  in  native  history  forever  with  the 
name  of  the  reigning  Emperor  Mutsuhito,  is 
the  most  remarkable  instance  of  an  educa- 
tional revolution  that  the  world  has  ever  seen, 
chiefly  on  account  of  its  startling  swiftness. 


188  YOUNG  JAPAN 

But  it  was  really  made  possible  by  a  gradual 
revolution  on  a  smaller  scale,  proceeding 
under  the  intellectual  leadership  of  the 
princes  of  Mito. 

The  second  prince  of  Mito,  Mitsukuni  (A.D. 
1622-1700),  inherited  the  literary  taste  of  his 
The  Mito  illustrious  grandfather,  the  founder 
Movement.  of  the  Tokugawa  Shogunate.  His 
natural  talents  were  encouraged  by  cir- 
cumstances that  must  by  no  means  be  over- 
looked if  we  would  understand  the  modern 
history  of  Japanese  educational  development. 
It  was  in  the  province  of  Mito  that  those 
learned  Chinese  refugees  found  shelter  who 
fled  their  native  country  on  the  overthrow 
of  the  Ming  dynasty  in  the  year  1644.  Dr. 
Griffis  likens  the  downfall  of  Pekin,  in  its  in- 
fluence on  Japanese  thought,  to  the  downfall 
of  Constantinople  in  relation  to  European  de- 
velopment. The  second  prince  of  Mito  had 
the  best  of  opportunities  for  carrying  for- 
ward those  classical  pursuits  so  dear  to  the 
heart  of  his  grandfather.  And  he  was  soon 
stimulated  thereby  to  the  study  of  Japanese 
literature,  which  became  the  passion  of  his 
life.  Gathering  around  him  a  company  of 
kindred  spirits,  he  began  the  compilation  of 
the  Dai  Nihon  Shi,  a  great  ''history  of 


MODERN    SCHOOL-DAYS         189 

Japan"  in  a  hundred  volumes,  which  his  co- 
laborers  brought  to  completion  fifteen  years 
after  his  death.  Next  to  the  two  great  prod- 
ucts of  early  literature,  the  Kojiki  and  the 
Nihongi*  this  huge  work  ranks  as  the  most 
important  history  of  Japan,  which  wrought 
such  influence  upon  its  readers  as  to  lead  that 
profound  student  of  Japanese  affairs,  Sir 
Ernest  Satow,  to  pronounce  Mitsukuni  "the 
real  author  of  the  movement  which  culmi- 
nated in  the  revolution  of  1868."  For  his 
history  gained  greater  vogue  as  the  years 
went  by,  being  diligently  studied  in  manu- 
script, until  in  1851  the  demand  had  become 
so  general  that  it  made  its  appearance  in 
print,  and  became  the  mental  food  of  the 
whole  nation. 

The  second  great  literary  offspring  of  the 
Mito  movement  had  meanwhile  made  its  ap- 
pearance in  1827,  from  the  pen  of  the  eminent 
scholar  Eai  Sanyo.  This  was  known  as  the 
Nihon  Gwaishi,  or  "External  History  of 
Japan."  The  unconcealed  aim  of  this  im- 
mense undertaking,  which  occupied  its 
author's  time  for  twenty  years  continuously, 
was  "to  show  that  the  Mikado  is  the  only 

*  See  page  60. 


190  YOUNG  JAPAN 

true  ruler,  in  whom  is  the  fountain  of  power, 
and  to  whom  the  allegiance  of  every  Japanese 
is  due;  and  that  even  the  Tokugawas  were 
not  free  from  the  guilt  of  usurpation. ' '  Pro- 
fessor Chamberlain  speaks  of  its  ''fanati- 
cally imperialist  sentiments,  which  contrib- 
uted in  no  small  measure  to  bring  about  the 
fall  of  the  Shogunate."  He  adds  that  the 
work  is  intolerably  dry,  so  that  the  fact  of  a 
book  like  this  having  fired  a  whole  nation  with 
enthusiasm  will  ever  remain  one  of  the  curi- 
osities of  literature.  A  prince  of  Mito  in  the 
year  1840  became  so  fervid  for  the  restoration 
of  the  old  true  order  of  things  that  he  actually 
resolved  to  exercise  the  samurai  prerogative 
of  allying  the  sword  with  the  pen  against  the 
usurpation  of  the  Shogun.  Hating  Buddhism 
as  an  imported  upstart  religion  and  being 
zealous  for  the  restoration  of  Shinto,  he 
seized  certain  of  the  monasteries  and  melted 
their  bells  into  cannon.  But  the  Mito  family 
handled  the  pen  rather  better  than  they 
wielded  the  sword,  and  this  literary  insurrec- 
tion was  suppressed ;  while  it  was  left  to  the 
clans  of  the  South  to  come  to  the  aid  of  their 
literary  northern  brethren  with  secret  prep- 
arations for  war.  Thus  the  unique  twofold 
power  of  the  samurai  was  made  perfect  by 


MODERN    SCHOOL-DAYS         191 

the  union  of  southern  swords  with  northern 
pens  in  common  cause  against  a  common 
foe.* 

The  southern  antagonism  against  Toku- 
gawa  rule  doubtless  had  its  remote  Poiiticai 

beginnings    in    the    early    Chris-    Preparation  for 
tian  conquest  of  certain  southern 
provinces,  whose   princes  had  become  con- 

*  Japanese  literature  in  general  felt  the  impulse  of 
the  Mito  movement.  Clay  MacCauley,  in  his  essay  on 
Japanese  literature,  tells  us  that  what  had  been  begun 
in  the  "Weeds  of  Idleness" — the  amalgamation  of  a 
Chinese  vocabulary  with  purely  Japanese  forms  of 
speech — was  well  earned  forward  by  the  Mito  school 
of  historians  towards  the  opening  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, and  as  this  century  advanced,  was  perfected  by 
the  accomplished  critics,  novelists,  and  dramatists  of  the 
times.  To  such  critics  as  Keichu  (1640-1701),  Mabu- 
chi  (1700-1769),  Motowori  (1730-1800),  and  Hirata 
(1776-1843),  Japanese  literature  is  indebted  for  elabo- 
rate critical  commentaries  on  the  "Kojiki,"  the  "Man- 
yoshu,"  and  the  ancient  Shinto  ritual;  and  from  them 
the  writers  of  later  days  received  models  in  composition 
and  style.  Chamberlain  says  of  Motowori,  indeed,  that 
as  a  stylist  he  stands  alone  among  Japanese  writers, 
being  altogether  the  "  greatest  scholar  and  writer  of 
modern  Japan."  Bakin  (1767-1840)  and  Ikku  (1763- 
1831)  are  the  greatest  of  Japanese  novelists,  the  latter 
being  sometimes  compared  with  Rabelais;  while  the 
two  most  famous  dramatists  of  the  Tokugawa  period 
were  Takeda  (1690-1756)  and  Chikamitsu  (1652-1724), 
"the  Japanese  Shakespeare." 


192  YOUNG  JAPAN 

verts  to  the  faith  and  thereby  the  outlaws 
of  lyeyasu  and  lyemitsu,  bequeathing  to  their 
posterity  a  hatred  of  the  Tokugawa  rule 
which  might  smoulder  but  could  never  go  out. 
The  Shimabara  massacre  left  an  awful  scar 
on  the  memories  of  the  people  of  Kyushu. 
Not  only  so,  but  they  could  not  forget  that 
southern  demigod,  Hideyoshi,  whose  most 
powerful  generals  had  been  southern  men, 
equal  with  lyeyasu  in  the  Taiko's  wars,  only 
to  see  the  Shogunate  usurped  and  themselves 
dishonored  by  the  murderer  of  Hideyoshi 's 
son  and  mother.  This  spirit  of  slumbering 
antagonism  to  the  Tokugawa  rule  never  once 
died  out  in  the  breasts  of  the  Satsuma  and 
Choshu  clans,  in  the  extreme  south-western 
provinces  of  Kyushu  and  Hondo  respectively. 
They  cherished  the  lessons  they  had  learned 
from  the  deported  foreigners  in  the  bloody 
science  of  war.  The  prince  of  Satsuma  sys- 
tematically encouraged  the  acquirement  of  all 
foreign  learning  that  might  give  superiority 
against  the  Shogun.  He  cared  not  for  the  for- 
eigners themselves,  and  still  less  for  the  relig- 
ion of  his  ancestors ;  but  he  hated  the  Toku- 
gawa rule.  By  hook  or  crook  he  contrived  to 
get  hints  and  clues  of  science  from  the  hermit 
Dutch  colony  at  Nagasaki.  He  actually  sue- 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         193 

ceeded  in  the  erection  of  foundries  for  the 
manufacture  of  cannon  and  other  western 
weapons.  He  encouraged  the  study  of  west- 
ern languages  in  order  to  learn  western 
secrets,  and  even  succeeded  in  sending  a  score 
of  disciples  abroad,  eluding  the  vigilance  of 
the  Shogunate,  that  they  might  return  and 
revolutionize  Japan.  These  southern  activi- 
ties account  for  the  fact  that,  in  spite  of 
Japan's  long  seclusion,  Commodore  Perry 
found  men  who  were  "not  only  well-bred,  but 
not  ill-educated."  In  the  official  narrative  of 
his  expedition  we  are  told  that  "when  a  ter- 
restrial globe  was  placed  before  them,  and 
their  attention  was  called  to  the  delineation 
on  it  of  the  United  States,  they  immediately 
placed  their  fingers  on  Washington  and  New 
York,  as  if  perfectly  familiar  with  the  fact 
that  one  was  the  capital  and  the  other  the 
commercial  metropolis  of  our  country.  .  .  . 
They  also  inquired  whether  the  canal  across 
the  isthmus  was  as  yet  finished."  *  Can  it  be 
that  this  nimble-witted  race  took  for  granted 
the  completion  of  a  work  so  essential,  whereas 
we  have  barely  begun  it  fifty  years  after  their 
question  was  asked?  This  at  least  seems  as 

*  "  Narrative,"  etc.,  New  York,  1857,  page  248. 
13 


194  YOUNG  JAPAN 

reasonable  a  view  as  the  labored  comment  of 
the  learned  narrator.  He  tells  us  further  that 
"they  seemed  to  acquire  rapidly  some  insight 
into  the  nature  of  steam  and  the  mode  with 
which  it  was  applied  to  put  into  action  the 
great  engine  and  move  by  its  power  the  wheels 
of  the  steamers.  Their  questions  were  of  the 
most  intelligent  character." 

This  brings  us  at  length  to  the  expedition 
under  Commodore  Perry,  one  of  the  most  ro- 
The  Perry  mantic  and  dramatic  events  in  mod- 
Expedition.  ern  history. 

There  had  been  various  attempts  to  unlock 
the  doors  of  Japan  after  lyemitsu  closed 
them  in  1624.  Within  two  hundred  years 
Great  Britain  made  nine  such  unsuccessful 
efforts,  the  Dutch  two,  and  the  Eussians 
three.  America's  first  attempt  occurred  in 
the  year  1837,  to  be  repeated  in  1846  and 
1849,  without  success.  Finally,  in  1852,  the 
government  authorized  and  equipped  the  ex>. 
pedition  which  owed  its  success  chiefly  to  the 
ability  of  the  mariner-statesman  who  both 
suggested  and  commanded  it,  Commodore 
Matthew  Calbraith  Perry. 

The  objects  that  America  had  in  view 
were  of  the  most  practical  and  prosaic  char- 
acter. They  are  naively  stated  in  the  letter 


MODERN    SCHOOL-DAYS         195 

addressed  by  President  Fillmore  to  his  '  'great 
and  good  friend,"  the  Emperor  of  Japan, 
but  presented  by  mistake  to  the 

America's  Aims. 

Shogun.  "Our  great  State  of 
California,"  wrote  the  President,  "produces 
about  sixty  millions  of  dollars  in  gold  every 
year,  besides  silver,  quicksilver,  precious 
stones,  and  many  other  valuable  articles.  I 
am  desirous  that  our  two  countries  should 
trade  with  each  other."  Again:  "I  have 
directed  Commodore  Perry  to  mention  an- 
other thing  to  your  imperial  majesty.  Many 
of  our  ships  pass  every  year  from  California 
to  China;  and  great  numbers  of  our  people 
pursue  the  whale  fishery  near  the  shores  of 
Japan.  It  sometimes  happens,  in  stormy 
weather,  that  one  of  our  ships  is  wrecked  on 
your  imperial  majesty's  shores.  In  all  such 
cases  we  ask,  and  expect,  that  our  unfortu- 
nate people  should  be  treated  with  kindness, 
and  that  their  property  should  be  protected 
till  we  can  send  a  vessel  and  bring  them 
away."  Thus  it  would  appear,  as  a  Japan- 
ese writer  suggests,  that  Michelet  was  not  so 
very  far  wrong  when  he  cried,  ' l  Who  opened 
to  men  the  great  distant  navigation!  Who 
revealed  the  ocean  and  marked  out  its  zones 
and  its  liquid  highways  I  Who  discovered  the 


196  YOUNG  JAPAN 

secrets  of  the  globe?  The  whale  and  the 
whales ! ' '  American  capital  was  at  this  time 
invested  in  the  whaling  fisheries  near  the 
coasts  of  Japan  to  the  extent  of  about  seven- 
teen million  dollars.  But  there  was  a  third 
reason  for  the  Perry  expedition.  "Commo- 
dore Perry  is  also  directed  by  me  to  represent 
to  your  imperial  majesty  that  we  understand 
that  there  is  a  great  abundance  of  coal  and 
provisions  in  the  Empire  of  Japan,"  con- 
tinues the  President.  "Our  steamships,  in 
crossing  the  great  ocean,  burn  a  great  deal 
of  coal,  and  it  is  not  convenient  to  bring  it 
all  the  way  from  America.  We  wish  that  our 
steamships  and  other  vessels  should  be  al- 
lowed to  stop  in  Japan  and  supply  themselves 
with  coal,  provisions,  and  water.  We  are 
very  desirous  of  this. ' ' 

It  would  therefore  appear  that  three  sim- 
ple commercial  considerations  prompted  the 
Perry  expedition, — better  coaling  facilities; 
better  whaling  facilities ;  and  the  extension  of 
California  commerce  consequent  upon  the  dis- 
covery of  gold  in  1848. 

As  one  reads  the  interesting  narrative  of 
this  expedition,  admiration  deep- 

Perry's  Ability.  ' 

ens  into  wonder  over  the  manner 
in  which  its  commander  conducted  the  pro- 


MODERN    SCHOOL-DAYS         197 

longed  and  difficult  negotiations, — evincing 
the  powers  of  a  finished  but  firm  diplomatist, 
with  long  years  of  experience  in  the  courts  of 
the  subtle  East,  whereas  his  honors  hitherto 
had  all  been  won  in  rough  battle,  either  with 
the  seas  or  with  his  country's  enemies.  In 
one  of  his  letters  to  the  government  he  shows 
the  rarest  understanding  of  Oriental  charac- 
ter when  he  says  that  in  dealing  with  people 
of  forms  "it  is  necessary  either  to  set  all 
ceremony  aside,  or  to  out-Herod  Herod  in 
assumed  personal  consequence  and  ostenta- 
tion." 

Commodore  Perry,  in  dealing  with  the 
most  ceremonial  people  on  earth,  proved  him- 
self able  to  "hoist  them  with  their 

His  success. 

own  petard."  Upon  anchoring  m 
the  Bay  of  Yedo  on  July  8,  1853,  he  refused 
at  once  to  give  audience  to  any  official  who 
was  not  his  equal  in  rank  and  duly  accredited 
to  deal  with  him.  When  excited  officials 
came  and  besought  him  to  go  to  the  open 
port  of  Nagasaki,  he  firmly  refused,  and 
demanded  an  embassy  from  the  Emperor. 
When,  finally,  the  Shogun  (whom  he  always 
mistook  for  the  Emperor)  sent  him  this 
princely  embassy  and  received  him  with  all 
pomp  and  ceremony,  one  knows  not  whether 


198  YOUNG  JAPAN 

to  be  chiefly  amused  or  amazed  by  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  letter  of  our  democratic 
president  was  delivered.  The  narrative, 
after  describing  the  impressive  landing  of 
the  marines  and  their  pompous  procession 
to  the  hall  of  audience,  especially  erected 
for  this  meeting,  informs  us  that  "two 
boys,  dressed  for  the  ceremony,  preceded 
the  Commodore  bearing  in  an  envelope  of 
scarlet  cloth  the  boxes  which  contained  his 
credentials  and  the  President's  letter.  These 
documents,  of  folio  size,  were  beautifully 
written  on  vellum,  and  not  folded,  but  bound 
in  blue  silk  velvet.  Each  seal,  attached  by 
cords  of  interwoven  gold  and  silk  with  pen- 
dant gold  tassels,  was  encased  in  a  circular 
box  six  inches  in  diameter  and  three  in 
depth,  wrought  of  pure  gold.  Each  of  the 
documents,  together  with  its  seal,  was  placed 
in  a  box  of  rosewood  about  a  foot  long,  with 
lock,  hinges,  and  mountings,  all  of  gold.  On 
either  side  of  the  Commodore  marched  a  tall, 
well-formed  negro,  who,  armed  to  the  teeth, 
acted  as  his  personal  guard.  These  blacks, 
selected  for  the  occasion,  were  two  of  the 
best-looking  fellows  of  their  color  that  the 
squadron  could  furnish.  All  this,  of  course, 
was  but  for  effect." 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS        199 

It  produced  a  tremendous  effect,  but  not  so 
much  as  the  Commodore's  firmness,  backed 
by  his  terrible  engines  of  war.  The  Perry's 

islanders  had  been  greatly  excited 
by  the  appearance  of  his  four  "black  ships 
of  evil  mien,"  freighted  with  great  open- 
mouthed  guns.  A  native  writer  tells  us  that 
' '  the  popular  commotion  in  Yedo  at  the  news 
of  'a  foreign  invasion'  was  beyond  descrip- 
tion. The  whole  city  was  in  an  uproar.  In 
all  directions  were  seen  mothers  flying  with 
children  in  their  arms,  and  men  with  mothers 
on  their  backs.  Rumors  of  an  immediate 
action,  exaggerated  each  time  they  were  com- 
municated from  mouth  to  mouth,  added  hor- 
ror to  the  horror-stricken. "  In  a  day  or  two, 
however,  as  it  was  made  clear  that  the  in- 
vaders were  peaceful,  terror  changed  to  curi- 
osity, and  the  officials,  making  a  virtue  of 
necessity,  consented,  as  we  have  seen,  to 
transmit  the  President's  letter  to  the  Shogun 
in  Yedo,  whom  they  permitted  Commodore 
Perry  always  to  regard  as  the  Emperor. 
Having  secured  this  important  concession, 
the  Commodore  with  remarkable  sagacity 
steamed  away  to  China  with  the  promise  to 
return  for  an  answer  during  the  following 
spring.  His  first  visit  lasted  only  eight  days. 


200  YOUNG  JAPAN 

In  this  brief  time,  besides  accomplishing  the 
main  object  of  his  visit,  he  succeeded  in  estab- 
lishing convivial  relations  with  Japanese 
officials,  whom  he  entertained  on  board  his 
flagship;  and  even  secured  their  consent  to 
a  significant  interchange  of  presents.  More- 
over, before  his  departure  he  boldly  sailed 
his  squadron  up  the  bay  almost  to  the  gates 
of  the  capital  city,  which  lies  some  thirty 
miles  north  of  his  original  anchorage.  The 
intelligent  Japanese  perceived  that  their  cap- 
ital was  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  his  great 
men-of-war,  but  that  he  abstained  from  the 
use  of  force.  Having  produced  a  tremendous 
effect  upon  the  advisers  and  officials  of  the 
Shogunate,  the  Commodore  sailed  away  and 
gave  them  time  to  think  it  over.  Besides,  his 
presence  was  needed  in  China,  and  he  also 
wished  to  come  with  still  greater  show  of 
force  when  demanding  a  proper  answer  to 
his  letter. 

On  the  13th  day  of  February,  1854,  Com- 
modore Perry  again  anchored  in  the  Bay  of 
perry's  second  Yedo,  being  now  in  command  of  a 
Vteit-  fleet  of  eight  stately  vessels.  We 

have  no  time  to  follow  the  negotiations  in 
detail.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  American 
sailor  gave  continual  evidence  of  his  remark- 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS        201 

able  skill  in  diplomacy;  and  that  he  finally 
secured,  on  the  31st  of  March,  the  execution 
of  a  formal  treaty  that  secured  for  America 
all  of  the  objects  desired.  After  a  sojourn  of 
more  than  four  months,  including  an  impor- 
tant visit  to  Yezo  on  account  of  the  whaling 
interests,  the  squadron  took  its  departure, 
and  Japan  was  opened  to  the  world.  England 
and  Russia  were  quick  to  make  treaties,  and 
other  nations  speedily  followed.  In  its  effect 
upon  the  history  of  the  world,  the  Perry  expe- 
dition is  probably  the  most  important  peace- 
ful voyage  undertaken  since  the  expedition  of 
Columbus.  It  is  by  no  means  unlikely  that 
Columbus  himself  was  seeking  the  land  of 
Japan,  whereof  his  adventurous  countryman, 
Marco  Polo,  had  brought  the  first  tidings  to 
Europe.*  But  Columbus,  instead  of  finding 
the  farthest  country  of  the  East,  discovered 
the  world  of  the  West.  Two  and  a  half  cen- 
turies later,  it  was  the  lot  of  the  young  West- 
ern nation  to  complete  his  unfulfilled  en- 
deavor and  unbar  the  gateways  of  Asia.  For 
the  events  of  recent  years  are  proving  that 
Japan  is  the  key  to  the  Orient. 
It  is  interesting  to  notice  the  character  of 

*  See  "  Mikado's  Empire,"  Griffis,  page  247. 


202  YOUNG  JAPAN 

the  presents  exchanged  between  the  East  and 
the  West  on  the  occasion  of  the  negotiation 
Exchange  of  of  the  treaty.  Among  the  princi- 
Gilt8>  pal  objects  presented  by  the  "Em- 

peror," as  the  Americans  invariably  called 
him,  to  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
was  a  "censer  of  bronze  (cow-shape),  sup- 
porting silver  flower  and  stand. ' '  The  bovine 
design  was  very  puzzling  to  the  minds  of 
the  westerners,  but  we  have  already  learned 
that  in  Japanese  usage  the  cow  is  a  symbol 
of  education,  from  its  association  with  the 
great  Michizane,  their  high-priest  of  letters.* 
Other  prominent  articles  were  book-cases  and 
writing-tables;  so  it  would  appear  without 
doubt  that  the  Shogun  expressed  by  this 
symbolism  his  understanding  of  education 
as  the  key-note  to  the  progress  of  the 
West.  Chief  among  the  American  pres- 
ents, alas !  were  rifles  and  muskets,  pistols  and 
swords, — and  the  Japanese  have  learned  the 
lesson  right  well.  There  were  also  numerous 
baskets  of  champagne,  with  plenty  of  whis- 
key and  wine,  which  played  an  important 
part,  as  we  are  told,  in  establishing  cordial 
and  even  convivial  relations  with  the  natives. 

*  See  page  168. 


MODERN    SCHOOL-DAYS         203 

On  the  other  hand,  there  were  books,  tele- 
graph equipments,  and  a  pygmy  locomotive 
outfit.  With  reference  to  this  last,  the  narra- 
tor graphically  informs  us  that ' '  all  the  parts 
of  the  mechanism  were  perfect,  and  the  car 
was  a  most  tasteful  specimen  of  workman- 
ship, but  so  small  that  it  could  hardly  carry 
a  child  of  six  years  of  age.  The  Japanese, 
however,  were  not  to  be  cheated  out  of  a  ride, 
and,  as  they  were  unable  to  reduce  themselves 
to  the  capacity  of  the  inside  of  the  carriage, 
they  betook  themselves  to  the  roof.  It  was  a 
spectacle  not  a  little  ludicrous  to  behold  a  dig- 
nified mandarin  whirling  around  the  circular 
road  at  the  rate  of  twenty  miles  an  hour,  with 
his  loose  robes  flying  in  the  wind.  As  he 
clung  with  a  desperate  hold  to  the  edge  of  the 
roof,  grinning  with  intense  interest,  and  his 
huddled-up  body  shook  convulsively  with  a 
kind  of  laughing  timidity,  while  the  car  spun 
rapidly  around  the  circle,  you  might  have 
supposed  that  the  movement,  somehow  or 
other,  was  dependent  rather  upon  the  enor- 
mous exertions  of  the  uneasy  mandarin  than 
upon  the  power  of  the  little  puffing  locomo- 
tive, which  was  so  easily  performing  its 
work."  But  there  is  more  than  a  mere  joke 
in  this  picture.  It  strikingly  illustrates  the 


204  YOUNG  JAPAN 

intellectual  alertness  of  the  Japanese,  who, 
albeit  perhaps  the  most  sensitive  people  on 
earth,  are  even  willing  to  subject  themselves 
to  what  one  of  their  living  educators  calls 
"the  greatest  evil," — namely,  ridicule, — in 
order  to  acquire  new  knowledge.  The  mo- 
ment they  were  convinced  that  the  outside 
world  had  good  things  which  they  did  not  pos- 
sess, they  resolved  to  become  possessors  at 
any  cost.  Dr.  Griffis  believes  that  "the  no- 
blest trait  in  the  character  of  a  Japanese  is 
his  willingness  to  change  for  the  better  when 
he  discovers  his  wrong  or  inferiority." 

And  yet  the  cold  prosaic  fact  remains  that 
the  chief  reason  why  the  "barbarian"  Ameri- 
Theshogun's  cans  were  allowed  to  enter  Japan 
Dilemma.  was  smlpiy  that  the  Shogunate 
was  too  weak  to  keep  them  out.  It  is  one 
thing  to  speak  of  Japanese  character,  and 
quite  a  different  matter  to  treat  of  Japanese 
politics.  It  was  with  extreme  reluctance  that 
the  Shogun  concluded  his  treaty  with  Amer- 
ica, making  a  virtue  of  necessity,  as  already 
stated.  And  when  he  did  yield  to  the  impor- 
tunities of  Commodore  Perry  it  was  only  to 
find  himself  entangled  in  a  web  of  difficulties 
within  the  realm  itself.  Here  it  is  necessary 
to  recall  the  interior  preparation  for  revolu- 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         205 

tion  that  had  been  going  forward  for  so  many 
years  under  the  literary  leadership  of  the 
princes  of  Mito  and  the  military  direction  of 
the  Sat-Cho  (Satsuma-Choshu)  clans.  The 
patriotism  of  these  forces  was  intense;  they 
believed  in  "Japan  for  the  Japanese"  and 
in  a  restored  Mikado.  They  were  therefore 
united  both  in  their  hatred  for  the  obtrusive 
Shogunate  and  in  their  hatred  for  the  intru- 
sive foreigners.  Had  not  the  prince  of  Sat- 
suma,  in  1837,  deliberately  decoyed  the  Amer- 
ican naval  vessel  "Morrison"  into  his  har- 
bors, and  then  fired  on  it?  As  for  the  prince 
of  Mito,  no  sooner  did  he  hear  of  the  negotia- 
tions that  were  taking  place  on  the  occasion 
of  Perry's  first  visit,  than  he  presented  the 
Shdgun  with  an  urgent  protest  against  them. 
It  is  significant  that  he  plunges  at  once  into 
the  subject  of  religion.  "Notwithstanding 
the  strict  interdiction  of  Christianity,"  he 
declares,  "there  are  those  guilty  of  the  hei- 
nous crime  of  professing  the  doctrines  of  this 
evil  sect.  If  now  America  be  once  admitted 
into  our  favor,  the  rise  of  this  faith  is  a  mat- 
ter of  certainty."  He  concludes  his  strenu- 
ous memorial  with  a  ringing  call  to  arms 
against  the  despised  barbarians.  * '  Peace  and 
prosperity  of  long  duration  have  enervated 


206  YOUNG  JAPAN 

the  spirit,  rusted  the  armor,  and  blunted  the 
swords  of  our  men.  Dulled  to  ease,  when  shall 
they  be  aroused  f  Is  not  the  present  the  most 
auspicious  moment  to  quicken  their  sinews  of 
war?"  Almost  all  of  the  daimyos  shared  the 
opinions  of  Mito,  and  opposed  the  opening  of 
the  country.  But  the  Shogunate  had  seen  the 
"four  black  ships  of  evil  mien,"  and  knew 
that  Perry  could  not  be  opposed.  In  a  ner- 
vous panic  they  threw  up  a  few  harmless  forts 
in  the  Bay  of  Yedo,  indeed,  during  Perry's 
absence  in  China;  but  they  had  no  heart  in 
their  task.  During  this  same  crucial  period 
of  suspense,  the  Shogun  lyeyoshi  died,  and 
his  son  lyesada  awaited  the  return  of  the  for- 
eigner in  the  midst  of  a  turmoiled  govern- 
ment and  in  the  face  of  a  deadly  opposition. 
Plainly,  the  Shogunate  was  tottering  to  its 
fall. 

Perry  returned ;  lyesada  succumbed  to  the 
inevitable,  and  threw  in  his  lot  with  the  for- 
eigners.   As  soon  as  the  treaty  was 

Oppoaition.          .  °  / 

signed,  the  opposition  new  into  a 
fury.  The  Jo-i  party  was  formed,  with  the 
Prince  of  Mito  at  its  head ;  the  name  means, 
' '  expel  the  barbarians. ' '  The  Sat-Cho  party 
eagerly  seized  the  opportunity  for  giving  vent 
to  their  cherished  hatred  of  the  Tokugawas. 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         207 

This  hatred  was  wrought  to  a  white  heat 
when  it  was  learned  that  the  treaties  had  been 
signed  at  Yedo  without  consulting  with 
Kydto  at  all.  The  Emperor  Komei  had  been 
ignored.  The  literary  patriots  took  advan- 
tage of  this  fact  to  remind  the  thoughtless 
masses  that  they  really  had  an  emperor,  and 
that  he  was  by  rights  their  only  ruler.  The 
Shogunate,  usurping  the  imperial  preroga- 
tives, had  concluded  a  treaty  of  peace  and 
commerce  with  the  barbarians!  Komei  him- 
self, a  man  of  no  little  ability,  declared  that 
his  rest  was  disturbed  by  the  spectacle  of 
'  *  the  fierce  barbarian  at  our  very  door. ' '  For 
the  first  time  in  centuries  the  imperial  voice 
was  heard  and  heeded,  and  the  country  re- 
sounded with  the  cry,  "Honor  the  Emperor, 
expel  the  barbarian!"  After  a  peace  of  two 
and  a  half  centuries,  Japan  made  ready  for 
war. 

But  so  great  was  the  confusion  of  this  tur- 
bulent period  that  it  can  hardly  be  dignified 
with  the  name  of  war.  Japan  was 

,  f  Turmoil. 

experiencing  the  terrors  of  a  pro- 
longed political  earthquake.    As  if  to  sym- 
bolize this  fact,  the  troubles  of  the  ill-starred 
Shogunate  were  enlarged  in  1855  when  a  lit- 
eral and  most  terrific  earthquake  laid  the 


208  YOUNG  JAPAN 

capital  city  in  ruins.  Japan  is  visited  with 
an  average  of  an  earthquake  for  every  day 
in  the  year;  but  seldom  has  this  country  of 
cataclysms  suffered  more  severely  than  by 
this  fearful  disaster,  which  destroyed  fifteen 
thousand  dwellings,  and  was  followed  by  an 
awful  conflagration.  The  ignorant  not  unnat- 
urally attributed  the  ruin  of  Yedo  to  the 
wickedness  of  its  rulers,  and  were  the  more 
eager  to  see  them  utterly  overthrown. 

"We  may  follow  the  confusions  of  this  revo- 
lutionary period,  which  culminated  in  1868, 
only  in  the  largest  outline.    The  Sho- 

Conflict.  &  . 

gunate  recovered  somewhat  01  its  in- 
fluence upon  the  death  of  lyesada,  in  1858, 
when  the  government  was  seized  by  the 
regent  li,  who  established  himself  in  power 
by  the  ancient  trick  of  setting  an  infant  ruler 
on  a  nominal  throne.  As  successor  to  the 
Shogunate  he  selected  a  twelve-year-old  boy 
named  lyemochi,  whom  he  could  easily  con- 
trol, while  utterly  ignoring  the  Mikado.  This 
stroke  of  li's,  in  fact,  was  but  the  Ho  jo 
usurpation  on  a  smaller  scale.  He  meted  out 
instant  and  terrible  punishment  upon  all  who 
labored  for  the  restoration  of  imperialism, 
and  by  sheer  personal  force  cemented  the 
crumbling  power  of  Yedo  into  a  temporary 


MODERN    SCHOOL-DAYS         209 

resistance  against  its  foes.  But  the  arro- 
gance of  his  usurpation  added  flocks  of  new 
followers  to  the  Jo-i  party  and  their  associ- 
ates in  the  south,  besides  causing  hordes  of 
ronin  to  take  to  the  field  pledged  never  to  rest 
until  the  Emperor  should  be  restored  to  his 
throne.  li  fell  a  victim  to  these  "wave-men" 
by  assassination,  and  his  downfall  was  the 
signal  for  murderous  attacks  upon  the  for- 
eigners and  the  destruction  of  the  foreign 
legations.  The  real  power  of  the  Shogunate 
now  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  strong  party  who 
committed  themselves  wholly  to  the  admis- 
sion of  Western  influences,  signalizing  this 
fact  in  the  year  1860  by  sending  an  embassy 
of  inquiry  abroad.  But  in  order  to  conciliate 
the  sentiment  at  home,  the  nominal  Shogun, 
lyemochi,  was  now  persuaded  by  his  advisers 
to  renew  the  ancient  custom  of  paying  a  visit 
of  homage  to  the  Emperor  at  Kyoto,  in  rec- 
ognition of  his  theoretical  supremacy.  The 
effect  of  this  journey  was  simply  to  demon- 
strate to  the  hitherto  unmoved  masses  that 
the  Shogun  was,  after  all,  an  inferior;  and 
the  virile  Emperor,  moreover,  took  advan- 
tage of  this  opportunity  so  to  exert  his  in- 
fluence upon  the  weak  Shogun,  as  to  secure 
the  appointment  of  a  prime  minister  who 

14 


210  YOUNG  JAPAN 

was  in  collusion  with  the  Sat-Cho  clans. 
The  first  act  of  this  premier  was  to  abolish 
the  ancient  rule  of  lyemitsu  which  required 
the  daimyos  to  make  their  residence  at 
Yedo.  '  *  Like  wild  birds  from  an  opened  cage, 
they,  with  all  their  retainers,  fled  from  the 
city  in  less  than  a  week."  "And  so,"  says 
the  native  chronicler,  "the  prestige  of  the 
Tokugawa  family,  which  had  endured  for 
three  hundred  years;  which  had  been  really 
more  brilliant  than  Kamakura  in  the  age  of 
Yoritomo  on  a  moonlight  night  when  the  stars 
are  shining;  which  for  more  than  two  hun- 
dred and  seventy  years  had  forced  the 
daimyos  to  come  breathlessly  to  take  their 
turn  of  duty  in  Yedo,  and  which  had,  day 
and  night,  eighty  thousand  vassals  at  its  beck 
and  call,  fell  to  ruin  in  the  space  of  one  morn- 
ing." 

The  Shogunate  party,  in  a  desperate  en- 
deavor to  recover  its  lost  prestige,  now 
rinai  struggles  wnedecl  about  and  attempted  to 
of  the  close  the  country  against  foreign- 

ers. In  this  there  was  unity  of 
action,  for  the  Emperor  also  officially  ex- 
pelled all  "barbarians"  from  Japan.  The 
Sat-Cho  clans,  emboldened  by  the  weakening 
of  the  Shogun's  government,  fired  from  their 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         211 

forts  on  the  ships  of  France,  Holland,  and  the 
United  States,  gathered  in  Shimonoseki 
Straits  (between  Hondo  and  Kyushu)  in 
July,  1863,  and  shortly  afterwards  attacked 
a  steamer  belonging  to  the  Shogunate.  The 
three  powers  took  redress,  assisted  by  Great 
Britain,  in  the  following  year;  bombarding 
Shimonoseki,  and  thus  bringing  The 

the    fierce    Sat-Cho    clansmen    a 


salutary  lesson  in  barbarian 
strength.  Unfortunate  Yedo  was  also  made 
to  suffer,  the  combined  powers  demanding  of 
the  Shogunate,  as  the  only  responsible  gov- 
ernment, an  indemnity  of  three  million  dol- 
lars for  the  assault  of  the  Choshu  men. 
lyemochi  thereupon  attempted  to  punish  the 
southern  clansmen  for  the  indignity  they  had 
brought  upon  Japan,  being  emboldened  to 
take  these  measures  by  a  success  that  his 
troops  had  won  against  the  southerners  at 
Kyoto.  But  the  time  had  now  come  for  a 
decisive  test  of  strength,  and  the  Choshu  war- 
riors proved  the  long  preparations  they  had 
been  making  for  this  struggle  with  the  hated 
Shogunate.  "The  Choshu  clansmen,  united 
and  alert,  were  lightly  dressed,  armed  with 
English  and  American  rifles,  drilled  in  Euro- 
pean tactics,  and  abundantly  provided  with 


212  YOUNG  JAPAN 

artillery,  which  they  fired  rapidly  and  with 
precision.  They  had  cast  away  armor,  sword, 
and  spear.  Choshu  had  long  been  the  seat  of 
Dutch  learning,  and  translations  of  Dutch 
military  works  were  numerously  made  and 
used  there.  Their  disciplined  battalions  were 
recruited  from  the  common  people,  not  from 
the  samurai  alone,  were  well  paid,  and  full  of 
enthusiasm.  The  Shogunate  had  but  a  mot- 
ley, half-hearted  army,  many  of  whom,  when 
the  order  was  given  to  march,  straightway 
fell  ill,  having  no  stomach  for  the  fight. ' '  The 
campaign  ended  in  the  utter  defeat  of  the 
Sh5gunate,  whose  exhausted  leader,  lye- 
mochi,  died  at  Osaka  in  1866. 

This  brings  the  last  of  the  Shoguns  upon 
the  scene.  The  dramatic  circumstances  of  his 
The  Last  of  the  career  invest  this  man,  Hitotsu- 
shoguns.  bashi,  with  such  a  glamour  of  ro- 

mance that  it  is  very  difficult  to  determine  his 
real  character.  By  some  writers  he  is  criti- 
cised as  a  vacillating  weakling,  while  others 
praise  him  as  the  equal  in  unselfishness  of 
George  Washington — who,  by  the  way,  is 
one  of  the  national  heroes  of  young  Japan. 
We  will  simply  let  the  complex  story  speak 
for  itself. 

The  waxing  power  of  the  Emperor  appears 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         213 

in  the  fact  that  this  Shogun  was  appointed 
directly  by  the  court.  Not  only  so,  but  he  was 
a  son  of  the  Prince  of  Mito,  being  thus  of  the 
Tokugawa  clan,  but  brought  up  under  strong 
imperialistic  influences.  So  strong  had  been 
his  influence  with  the  Emperor  that  he  had 
succeeded,  as  lyemochi's  guardian,  in  secur- 
ing the  imperial  consent  to  the  foreign  trea- 
ties (1865).  Thus  the  chief  stigma  had  been 
removed  from  the  Shogunate  in  connection 
with  the  foreigners.  Yet  it  is  said  that  Hito- 
tsu-bashi  was  not  really  friendly  to  the  for- 
eigners, and  endeavored  afterwards  to  bring 
about  their  exclusion.  However,  by  a  strange 
set  of  circumstances,  this  loyalist  Shogun 
shortly  found  himself  in  the  position  of 
antagonizing  the  court.  This  was  brought 
about  by  a  master-stroke  on  the  part  of  the 
Sat-Cho  men,  who  took  advantage  of  the 
death  of  the  Emperor  Komei  early  in  the 
year  1867  to  effect  a  coup  d'etat.  Their 
wisest  counsellors  secured  complete  con- 
trol of  the  young  Emperor,  Mutsuhito, 
''the  man  of  meekness,"  at  that  time  only 
fifteen  years  old;  while  their  troops  as- 
sumed the  name  of  "the  loyal  army"  and 
surrounded  the  palace  at  Kyoto.  Immedi- 
ately an  edict  went  forth  dissolving  the 


214  YOUNG  JAPAN 

Shogunate,  and  proclaiming  Mutsuhito  sole 
ruler  of  the  empire.  Hitotsu-bashi  realized 
that  this  was  wholly  the  work  of  the  tra- 
ditional enemies  of  his  house,  and  he  also 
perceived  that  the  Shogunate  was  doomed, 
by  an  immemorial  rule,  so  long  as  the  im- 
perial person  'was  in  the  possession  of  the 
enemy.  In  this  extremity  he  led  his  forces 
in  an  assault  against  "the  loyal  army,"  but 
was  repulsed  from  the  neighborhood  of 
Kyoto  with  heavy  loss.  He  could  easily  have 
recruited  his  forces,  and  prolonged  the  strug- 
gle indefinitely.  But  the  principle  of  loyalty 
was  so  strong  in  him  that  he  refused  to 
appear  in  the  attitude  of  rebellion,  albeit  by 
the  trick  of  his  enemies,  and  he  therefore 
resolved  to  resign.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  he  was  also  more  than  half  a  convert  to 
the  literary  doctrines  of  his  father's  house, 
for  in  a  final  letter  to  his  vassals  we  read  the 
words :  "It  appears  to  me  that  the  laws  can- 
not be  maintained  in  face  of  the  daily  exten- 
sion of  our  foreign  relations,  unless  the  gov- 
ernment be  conducted  by  one  head,  and  I 
therefore  propose  to  surrender  the  whole 
governing  power  into  the  hands  of  the  im- 
perial court.  This  is  the  best  I  can  do  for  the 
interests  of  the  empire."  His  resignation 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         215 

was  presented  on  the  19th  of  November, 
1867,  and  a  system  which  had  endured 
for  nearly  seven  centuries  was  Theshogun 
brought  forever  to  an  end;  it  Resigns, 

being  simply  inconceivable  that  circum- 
stances will  ever  again  be  such  as  to  admit 
the  formation  of  that  singular  institu- 
tion of  government  which  evolved  in  Yorito- 
mo's  time  into  the  Shogunate.  Hitotsu-bashi 
was  the  last  of  his  line.  He  retired  to  the  an- 
cient home  of  lyeyasu,  in  Shizuoka,  and  there 
sought  a  quiet  retreat  for  his  last  declining 
days.  In  a  great  storehouse  on  his  estate 
the  rust  and  the  mildew  have  wrought  havoc 
with  the  heaps  of  costly  gifts  "presented  by 
the  government  of  the  United  States  to  the 
Emperor  of  Japan."  The  Emperor  never 
saw  them.  They  were  very  costly  gifts,  for 
they  cost  the  Shoguns  their  rule.* 

No  sooner  had  the  Sat-Cho  cabinet  which 
surrounded  the  Emperor  accomplished  the 

*  "  It  is  on  record  that  the  last  of  the  Shoguns — oh, 
infinite  pathos! — rides  an  American  model  in  these  his 
last  feeble  days — days  whose  sole  light  is,  so  to  speak, 
a  spirit-lamp  of  glorious  memories — the  memories  of 
an  inheritor  of  such  dominion  as  Caesar  wielded,  the 
sadly  glorious  memories  of  an  inheritor  who  has  lost 
his  inheritance."— W.  P.  WATSON,  "  Japan,"  1904. 


216  YOUNG  JAPAN 

overthrow  of  the  Shogunate,  than  they 
achieved  the  most  rapid  reversion  of  policy 
sudden  whereof  history  bears  any  record. 

Change. 


about  and  marched  in  the  direction  of  pro- 
gress. They  gave  themselves  and  the  new 
imperial  regime  to  a  whole-souled  "western- 
ization" of  which  the  half-hearted  Shogun- 
ate had  never  faintly  dreamed.  They  went 
so  far  at  the  very  beginning  as  to  advance 
the  startling  proposition  that  the  inviolate 
practice  of  untold  ages  should  be  broken,  and 
that  the  Emperor  ought  to  come  out  from  his 
mysterious  seclusion  and  mingle  with  his 
people  after  the  fashion  of  the  monarchs  of 
the  West.  As  if  this  were  not  enough  to  take 
the  breath  away,  it  was  further  proposed 
that  the  sacred  capital  at  Kyoto  should  be 
abandoned,  although  it  had  been  the  imperial 
residence  since  794  A.D.,  and  the  Emperor 
remove  to  Yedo,  renamed  "Tokyo,"  "the 
eastern  capital,"  thus  signalizing  the  down- 
fall of  the  Shogunate  and  the  actual  sover- 
eignty of  the  quondam  pUppet-emperor. 
These  propositions  were  made  by  Okubo  of 
Satsuma  in  the  red-letter  "year  of  restora- 
tion," 1868,  as  follows:  "Since  the  Middle 
Ages,  our  Emperor  has  lived  behind  a  screen, 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS        217 

and  has  never  trodden  the  earth.  Nothing 
of  what  went  on  outside  his  screen  ever  pene- 
trated his  sacred  ear;  the  imperial 
residence  was  profoundly  secluded, 
and,  naturally,  unlike  the  outer  world.  Not 
more  than  a  few  court  nobles  were  allowed  to 
approach  the  throne,  a  practice  most  opposed 
to  the  principles  of  heaven.  Although  it  is 
the  first  duty  of  man  to  respect  his  superior, 
if  he  reveres  that  superior  too  highly  he  neg- 
lects his  duty,  while  a  breach  is  created  be- 
tween the  sovereign  and  his  subjects,  who 
are  unable  to  convey  their  wants  to  him.  This 
vicious  practice  has  been  common  in  all  ages. 
But  now  let  pompous  etiquette  be  done  away, 
and  simplicity  become  our  first  object. 
Kyoto  is  in  an  out-of-the-way  position,  and  is 
unfit  to  be  the  seat  of  government.  Let  His 
Majesty  take  up  his  abode  temporarily  at 
Osaka,  removing  his  capital  thither,  and  thus 
cure  one  of  the  hundred  abuses  which  we  in- 
herit from  past  ages."  Circumstances  con- 
sidered, this  is  one  of  the  boldest  utterances 
ever  made  by  mortal  man.  The  nation  was 
dumfounded  by  the  proposed  innovations, 
while  the  daimyos  stood  aghast  at  the  sudden 
and  extreme  radicalism  of  the  supposed  con- 
servatives of  the  south.  Enmities  were  en- 


218  YOUNG  JAPAN 

gendered  in  the  Satsuma  clan  which  cul- 
minated several  years  later  in  "the  Satsuma 
rebellion,"  and  in  the  assassination  of 
Okubo.  But  the  startling  changes  were  made, 
simply  because  Okubo  and  his  powerful  asso- 
ciates were  in  control  of  the  government. 
More  was  granted  than  had  been  asked,  be- 
cause it  was  decided  not  to  make  a  merely 
temporary  capital  at  Osaka,  but  to  remove 
The-Meiji"  permanently  to  "the  eastern  cap- 
ital" at  once.  A  new  era  was 
chosen  for  Japanese  history,  beginning  with 
the  year  1868,  and  it  received  the  significant 
name  of  the  Meiji  period,  which  means 
"progress."  In  February  of  that  year  the 
young  Emperor  still  further  astonished  the 
conservative  element  by  inviting  the  foreign 
representatives  in  Japan  to  an  imperial  audi- 
ence, the  significance  of  which  can  hardly 
now  be  conceived.  "Never  before  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  empire  had  its  divine  head  deigned 
to  admit  to  his  presence  the  despised  for- 
eigner, or  to  put  himself  on  an  equality  with 
the  sovereign  of  the  foreigner."  The 
event  created  the  most  profound  excite- 
ment. The  escort  of  the  British  minis- 
ter was  attacked  on  its  way  to  the  pal- 
ace, and  compelled  to  retire.  But  the  court 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         219 

was  inexorably  committed  to  progress,  and  a 
successful  audience  was  conducted  on  the 
following  day.  Not  only  so,  but  the  Emperor 
now  issued  an  edict  protecting  the  foreigners, 
and  decreeing  capital  punishment  of  the  most 
disgraceful  character  against  any  who  might 
molest  them.  The  year  1868  was  the  year  of 
imperial  restoration,  and  the  beginning  of 
the  "Progress  Period"  of  new  Japan.  It  is 
the  most  important  mile-stone  in  Japanese 
history  for  thirteen  centuries,  or  since  the 
deliberate  reception  of  Chinese  culture  in  the 
reign  of  the  Empress  Suiko.* 

Notable  events  succeeded  with  such  tre- 
mendous rapidity  that  it  is  difficult  to  present 
them  in  their  due  proportion.  Hesitation  of 
But  it  would  be  impossible  to  ex-  theDaimyos. 
aggerate  the  importance  of  a  memorial  which 
appeared  in  the  "Official  Gazette"  of  March 
5,  1869.  It  was  signed  by  the  most  powerful 
daimyos  of  the  South,  was  addressed  to  the 
Emperor,  and  amounted  in  fact  to  the  volun- 
tary abolition  of  feudalism.  The  Shogun  had 
resigned  his  Shogunate,  the  barons  now 
resign  their  fiefs.  The  patriotic  eloquence  of 
these  feudal  lords  reached  its  acme  in  the 

*  See  page  56. 


220  YOUNG  JAPAN 

words :  ' '  The  place  where  we  live  is  the  Em- 
peror's  land  and  the  food  that  we  eat  is  grown 
by  the  Emperor's  men.  How  can  we  claim  it 
as  our  own?  We  now  reverently  offer  up  the 
list  of  our  possessions  and  followers,  with  the 
prayer  that  the  Emperor  will  take  good  meas- 
ures for  rewarding  those  to  whom  reward  is 
due  and  for  fining  those  to  whom  punish- 
ment is  due.  Let  the  imperial  orders  be 
issued  for  altering  and  remodelling  the  terri- 
tories of  the  various  clans.  Let  the  civil  and 
penal  codes,  the  military  laws  down  to  the 
rules  for  uniform  and  the  construction  of 
engines  of  war,  all  proceed  from  the  Em- 
peror. Let  all  the  affairs  of  the  Empire, 
both  great  and  small,  be  referred  to  him." 

If  the  Sat-Ch5  clans  had  seen  their  long- 
cherished  desire  fulfilled  in  the  resignation  of 
the  Tokugawa  Shogun,  then  the  cup  of  the 
house  of  Mito  must  have  been  filled  to  over- 
flowing by  this  absolute  restoration  of  impe- 
rialism effected  by  the  resignation  of  the 
daimyos.  Yet  this  also  was  the  work  of  the 
Southerners.  A  young  Choshu  samurai 
named  Ito  had  been  among  those  that 
had  eluded  the  Shogun 's  vigilance  in  the  her- 
mit days,  eventually  succeeding  in  working 
his  way  before  the  mast  of  a  foreign  vessel, 


MODERN    SCHOOL-DAYS         221 

all  the  way  to  far-off  London.  His  eyes  were 
opened  by  what  he  saw  there,  and  "he 
returned  to  put  his  head  to  extraordinary 
uses."  It  is  now  known  that  Ito  was  the 
real  author  of  this  celebrated  document, — 
although  it  was  engineered  to  success  by 
Kido,  another  southern  clansman,  sometimes 
known  as  "the  brain  of  the  Restoration."  It 
may  as  well  be  said  at  this  point  that  the 
southern  clansmen  retain  entire  control  of 
the  government  to  this  day,  in  spite  of  a  con- 
stitution that  grants  equality  of  rights  to 
all.  They  do  so,  however,  by  virtue  of  their 
intellectual  ability  and  dominant  force  of 
character,  so  that,  while  the  constitution  suf- 
fers, the  state  not  only  survives  but  finds  its 
chief  source  of  strength  in  these  statesmen. 
Of  Ito  we  shall  learn  more  hereafter.  It 
is  significant  of  his  illustrious  career  that 
his  first  political  achievement  should  be  of 
such  tremendous  importance  as  the  voluntary 
abolition  of  feudalism. 

But  the  Emperor  was  not  to  be  outdone. 
He  accepted  the  surrender  of  feudalism,  but 
declined  to  rule  in  the  spirit  of  ab-  The  charter 
solutism.  On  April  17,  1869,  the  Oath- 

youthful  Mutsuhito  appeared  before  his  court 
and  an  assembly  of  powerful  dalmyos  to  take 


222  YOUNG  JAPAN 

his  famous  " charter  oath,"  in  substance  as 
follows:  (1)  A  deliberative  assembly  shall 
be  formed,  and  all  measures  decided  by  pub- 
lic opinion;  (2)  the  principles  of  social  and 
political  science  shall  be  diligently  studied  by 
all  classes ;  (3)  equal  rights  shall  be  accorded 
to  all  who  strive  for  a  worthy  purpose;  (4) 
all  the  absurd  usages  of  former  times  shall 
be  disregarded,  and  the  impartiality  and  jus- 
tice displayed  in  the  operations  of  nature 
adopted  as  the  basis  of  action;  (5)  wisdom 
and  ability  shall  be  sought  in  all  sections  of 
the  globe  for  the  purpose  of  firmly  establish- 
ing the  foundations  of  empire.  This  oath  is 
the  basis  of  the  present  government,  and  its 
promises  have  been  performed  with  surpris- 
ing thoroughness.  Within  the  year  a  tenta- 
tive parliament  was  held,  and  the  Emperor 
also  took  up  his  residence  in  the 

A  New  Capital.  _ 

Tokugawa  palace  at  Tokyo, 
where  he  still  resides.  Japan  was  fairly 
launched  upon  that  career  of  progress  that 
has  made  her  the  modern  marvel  of  the 
world. 

We  must  break  the  chain  of  events  at  this 
point  to  inquire  briefly  into  the  causes  of 
that  sudden  and  startling  change  on  the  part 
of  the  imperial  advisers  which  transformed 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         223 

them  in  a  trice  from  the  bitterest  enemies  of 
the  West  into  Occidentalists  of  the  most  pro- 
nounced type,  who  straightway  thrust  Japan 
loose  from  her  rusty  mediseval  moorings  full 
into  the  great  rushing  current  of  world 
politics. 

The  change  cannot  be  understood  unless  we 
keep  clearly  in  mind  two  fundamental  Japan- 
ese characteristics,  namely,  their  causes  of  the 
intense  patriotism  and  their  re-  Great  change. 
markable  intellectual  flexibility.  Everything 
that  Japan  does  is  to  be  accounted  for  by  her 
undying  patriotism.  In  no  country  is  there 
greater  attachment  to  the  native  land.  Feuds 
and  jealousies  may  spring  up  at  home,  but 
these  gain  their  chief  fierceness  from  the 
very  fact  that  each  warring  faction  is  tena- 
ciously devoted  to  some  pet  policy  which  it 
conceives  as  best  adapted  to  advance  the  in- 
terests of  the  country.  Thus,  Hitotsu-bashi 
was  unquestionably  a  patriot,  but  so  were  the 
Sat-Cho  men.  These  regarded  the  Sh5gun- 
ate  as  a  usurpation,  and  deemed  the  restora- 
tion of  the  Emperor  to  be  imperative  for  the 
welfare  of  the  land.  But  during  the  course 
of  the  restoration,  their  agile  intellects 
received  salutary  lessons  from  the  West. 
Choshu  learned  at  Shimonoseki,  as  Satsuma 


224  YOUNG  JAPAN 

had  learned  at  Kagoshima,*  that  Japan  in 
her  seclusion  had  by  no  means  kept  pace  with 
"barbarian"  nations  in  the  arts  of  war,  even 
as  ltd  declared.  Moreover,  the  handful  of 
young  men  who  visited  Europe  in  those  early 
days  returned,  as  they  themselves  tell  us, 
1  'with  their  faces  flushed  with  enthusiastic 
sympathy  with  the  modern  civilization  of 
Christendom."  So  it  was  that  in  the  very 
course  of  their  warfare  with  the  Shogunate, 
a  warfare  directly  precipitated  by  the  West- 
ern question,  these  keen  and  pliable  intellects 
were  doubtless  convinced  that  the  welfare  of 
their  country  could  be  best  advanced  by  the 
adoption  of  Occidental  civilization.  It  was 
the  Shogunate  that  they  fought  And  when 
this  had  been  overthrown,  the  same  patriotic 
impulse  that  had  impelled  the  victors,  now 
enlightened  by  the  dazzling  glow  of  the 
western  sun,  caused  them  to  adopt  the  very 
policy  that  had  led  to  the  outbreak  of  their 
war. 

But  throughout  the  years  that  immediately 

*  A  British  squadron  bombarded  and  almost  annihi- 
lated the  Satsuma  capital  in  1863  in  reprisal  for  the 
murder  of  a  British  subject  by  exasperated  Satsuma 
retainers  the  year  before. 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         225 

preceded  the  great  restoration  of  1868,  south- 
ern clansmen  had  had  unusual  opportunities 
for  the  reception  of  Western  en-  The  Firet 
lightenment.  Not  only  the  lurid  Protestant 
light  of  war,  but  the  softer  lumi- 
nary of  peace  and  good-will  shone  upon  them 
from  the  neighboring  western  shores.  One 
cannot  say  too  much  for  the  influence,  in 
those  early  days,  of  the  American  mission- 
ary-teachers who,  in  their  eagerness  to  bring 
the  light,  landed  in  the  erstwhile  "Chris- 
tian" city  of  Nagasaki  before  the  treaties 
fairly  accorded  them  that  right.  The  first  to 
arrive  was  the  Eev.  John  Liggins,  an  Eng- 
lishman with  an  American  training,  who  had 
been  engaged  in  missionary  work  in  China.* 
He  landed  on  the  2d  of  May,  1859,  and  was 
joined  a  month  later  by  a  colleague  from 
China,  the  Rev.  C.  M.  Williams,  who  de- 
voted his  life  to  the  awakening  empire. 
Both  of  these  gentlemen  represented  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church.  They  were 
followed  in  October  of  the  same  year  by 
Dr.  J.  C.  Hepburn,  a  medical  missionary  of 


*  This  distinguished  man  is  still  living.  The  author 
was  honored  by  a  letter  from  his  pen  in  the  summer  of 
1904. 

15 


226  YOUNG  JAPAN 

the  Presbyterian  Church,  while  the  Dutch 
Eef  ormed  Church  immediately  added  the  ser- 
vices of  Dr.  D.  B.  Simmons  and  the  Eev.  S. 
R.  Brown.  But  this  notable  missionary  year, 
1859,  was  chiefly  signalized  by  the  arrival  in 
November  of  Verbeck, — that  great  "man 
without  a  country,"  born  in  Holland, 
schooled  in  America,  married  until  his  death 
in  1898  to  the  welfare  of  the  new  Japan,— 
who,  more  than  any  and  all  others,  became 
schoolmaster  to  the  Emperor's  advisers,  and 
consequently  an  untold  influence  in  the  cre- 
ation of  the  Japan  of  to-day. 

There  is  room  for  but  the  briefest  sketch 
of  this  powerful  career  in  connection  with 
the  opening  years  of  the  new  Japan.* 
Brief  as  it  is,  it  must  not  be  over- 
looked by  those  who  would  weigh  the  causes 
that  made  the  Japanese  Revolution.  As  with 
all  of  the  earliest  missionaries  except  Dr. 
Hepburn,  Verbeck  made  his  headquarters 
at  Nagasaki.  His  associates  and  the  hosts 
that  came  after  them  have  done  a  noble  work 
for  Christianity  in  Japan;  but,  owing  to  his 
peculiar  equipment  and  opportunities,  Ver- 
beck from  the  very  beginning  gained  a  grip 

•  See  the  fuller  sketch  in  "  Japan  To-Day." 


MODERN    SCHOOL-DAYS         227 

on  the  government  itself  that  makes  his  story 
absolutely  unique.  Being  in  Nagasaki,  he  was 
near  the  great  dominant  daimyos,  and  being 
the  man  that  he  was,  he  succeeded  in  reaching 
them.  This  was  by  virtue  of  a  singularly 
engaging  personality,  coupled  with  a  culture 
that  was  at  once  versatile  and  thorough.  He 
was  versed  in  the  European  languages,  and 
had  also  had  training  in  science.  His  intellect 
was  strongly  creative,  and,  best  of  all,  he  had 
sense.  Attracting  the  attention  of  the  young 
samurai  who  thronged  Nagasaki  in  quest  of 
Dutch  learning,  his  little  home  soon  became 
an  embryo  Japanese  university.  At  his  feet 
sat  scores  of  the  men  who,  largely  by  reason 
of  his  training,  were  destined  to  direct  the 
future  course  of  empire.  His  fame  spread- 
ing, by  the  year  1867  four  of  the  foremost 
princes  were  clamoring  for  him  to  come  to 
their  provinces  and  direct  that  foreign  pro- 
gress which  they  were  now  so  eager  to  ad- 
vance among  their  people.  It  was  his  own 
fair  example  of  what  a  westerner  may  be  that 
confirmed  them  in  this  eagerness;  and  none 
can  guess  what  weighty  share  his  skilful  hand 
possessed  in  those  plastic  days  towards  the 
moulding  of  the  brand-new  government.  We 
know  certainly  that  when  the  capital  was 


228  YOUNG  JAPAN 

established  at  Tokyo,  Verbeck  was  imme- 
diately sent  for;  and  so,  after  a  decade  of 
unmeasured  usefulness  in  the  southern  sea- 
port, he  became  the  director  of  the  forming 
university  and  man-of-all-work  to  the  gov- 
ernment. Shortly  he  was  the  teacher  of  a 
thousand  eager  learners,  a  second  Abelard; 
besides  being  busied  with  the  translation  of 
such  great  works  as  the  Napoleonic  Code, 
Blackstone's  Commentaries,  Humboldt's  Cos- 
mos, Bluntschli's  and  Wheaton's  and  Perry's 
treatises  on  political  economy  and  interna- 
tional law, — massive  foundations  for  the 
building  of  a  mighty  nation.  One  who  visited 
him  in  1871  gives  this  graphic  inner  glimpse 
of  the  great  missionary's  workshop :  "I  saw 
a  prime  minister  of  the  empire,  heads  of  de- 
partments, and  officers  of  various  ranks, 
whose  personal  and  official  importance  I 
sometimes  did  and  sometimes  did  not  re- 
alize, coming  to  find  out  from  Mr.  Ver- 
beck matters  of  knowledge  or  to  discuss 
with  him  points  and  courses  of  action. 
To-day  it  might  be  a  plan  of  national  educa- 
tion ;  to-morrow,  the  engagement  of  foreign- 
ers to  important  positions;  or  the  despatch 
of  an  envoy  to  Europe ;  the  choice  of  the  lan- 
guage best  suitable  for  medical  science;  or 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS          229 

how  to  act  in  matters  of  neutrality  between 
France  and  Germany,  whose  war-vessels 
were  in  Japanese  waters;  or  to  learn  the 
truth  about  what  some  foreign  diplomatist 
had  asserted  ;  or  concerning  the  persecutions 
of  Christians;  or  some  serious  measure  of 
home  policy." 

Note  that  phrase,  "concerning  the  persecu- 
tions of  Christians."  It  must  not  be  imag- 
ined that,  because  Verbeck  was  Renewed 
accorded  such  very  high  honors,  Persecutions. 
his  missionary  propaganda  was  encouraged. 
Japan  was  endeavoring  to  receive  the  West- 
ern civilization  while  rejecting  the  western- 
ers '  religion.  No  sooner  had  the  new  govern- 
ment been  established  than  it  republished  the 
old  interdicts  against  Christianity,  and  fol- 
lowed these  up  with  new.  For,  now  that  the 
country  was  opened  to  foreigners  again,  it 
was  discovered  that  there  were  hundreds  who 
still  held  the  old  tradition  handed  down  to 
>them  by  their  fathers,  and  that  they 


mistook  the  removal  of  the  inter-      Fidelity  of 

,.    ,  .  n  ,      .  Christians. 

diet    against    foreigners    as    being 
also  a  removal  of  the  embargo  against  the 
foreigners'  religion.    A  most  interesting  in- 
cident occurred  in  1865  in  Nagasaki,  where 
incoming  Eoman  Catholic  missionaries  had 


230  YOUNG  JAPAN 

made  bold  to  erect  a  church  in  commemora- 
tion of  those  ' '  twenty-six  martyrs ' '  who  died 
in  the  first  Christian  persecution  under 
Hideyoshi.  One  day  the  foreign  priest  was 
surprised  by  a  visit  from  some  fifteen  coun- 
try folk,  who  said  to  him,  when  he  appeared 
at  the  door,  "The  hearts  of  all  of  us  here 
do  not  differ  from  yours."  When  he  asked 
whence  they  came,  they  named  their  village, 
and  added :  '  *  At  home  everybody  is  the  same 
as  we  are."  He  tells  us  that  the  church  was 
later  visited  by  fifteen  hundred  people  within 
two  days,  and  that  he  learned  of  the  exist- 
ence of  almost  twice  that  many  believers 
within  the  neighborhood;  while  in  one  par- 
ticular place  there  were  no  less  than  a  thou- 
sand Christian  families. 

The  new  government,  therefore,  doubtless 
inspired  by  the  zealots  of  Mito,  authorized  a 
series  of  persecutions  that  reached  their 
height  in  1869.  "Some  of  the  Christians 
were  tortured,  beaten,  or  cast  into  prison. 
Thousands  were  sent  into  exile,  being  scat- 
tered among  different  provinces,  and  in  many 
cases  being  forced  to  hard  labor  in  the 
mines."  "It  is  calculated,"  says  a  Roman 
Catholic  writer,  "that,  between  1868  and 
1873,  from  six  thousand  to  eight  thousand 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         231 

Christians  were  torn  from  their  families,  de- 
ported, and  subjected  to  cruel  tortures,  so 
that  nearly  two  thousand  died  in  prison." 
The  powers  protested ;  but  the  United  States 
minister  reports  that  "after  all  our  argu- 
ments had  been  used,  we  were  finally  told  by 
Mr.  Iwakura  that  this  government  rested 
upon  the  Shinto  faith,  which  taught  the  divin- 
ity of  the  Mikado;  that  the  propagation  of 
the  Christian  faith  and  religion  tended  to 
dispel  that  belief;  and  that  consequently  it 
was  the  resolve  of  this  government  to  resist 
its  propagation  as  they  would  resist  the 
advance  of  an  invading  army. ' ' 

Verbeck  set  himself  steadfastly  to  secure 
the  repeal  of  the  edicts  against  Christianity, 
and  it  was  through  this  very  Iwa-  The  Great 
kura  that  he  finally  accomplished  Embassy  and 
his  object,  as  the  result  of  the 
Great  Embassy  to  Christendom,  which  he 
himself  inspired  and  directed.  Reasoning 
that  if  the  leaders  of  the  nation  could  but  be 
induced  to  go  abroad  and  see  for  themselves 
the  condition  of  Christian  countries,  they 
would  no  longer  proscribe  a  religion  that  had 
wrought  so  wondrously  for  others,  he  submit- 
ted so  early  as  1869  a  memorial  to  his  former 
pupils — but  now  the  imperial  councillors — 


232  YOUNG  JAPAN 

that  bore  fruit  two  years  later  in  the  Great 
Embassy  that  brought  Japan  to  a  position 
in  the  front  of  the  world-stage  from  which 
she  has  never  since  receded,  and  also 
achieved  Verbeck's  wish.  For  the  great  min- 
ister Iwakura  himself  headed  this  delegation, 
and  promptly  telegraphed  back  to  Japan  in 
accordance  with  his  teacher's  prediction  and 
desire,  so  that  the  edict-boards  were  at  once 
removed  from  the  public  highways,  and  the 
principle  of  religious  toleration  was  tacitly 
established  in  their  place. 

This  was  in  1872, — a  year  noted  for  mar- 
vellous advance  in  the  growth  of  the  regener- 
xhe changes  ated  empire.  "The  army,  navy, 
and  civil  service  were  entirely  re- 
constructed ;  the  imperial  mint  at  Osaka  was 
opened  and  a  new  coinage  introduced;  the 
educational  department,  established  in  1871, 
largely  extended  its  operations  under  an 
enlightened  minister,  and  the  university  was 
firmly  established  at  Tokyo;  the  post-office 
was  organized,  runners  being  employed,  who, 
by  connections,  could  cover  a  hundred  and 
twenty-five  miles  a  day;  an  industrial  exhi- 
bition was  held  in  the  sacred  city  of  Kyoto ; 
and  on  June  12  the  first  railway  in  Japan 
was  opened  from  Tokyo  to  Yokohama,  a  dis- 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         233 

tance  of  eighteen  miles."  In  the  preceding 
year  the  abandoned  daimiates  had  been 
superseded  by  a  system  of  prefectures,  re- 
sponsible to  a  central  cabinet  in  Tokyo; 
and  the  despised  eta,  or  pariahs  of  Japan, 
had  been  raised  to  the  dignity  of  citizen- 
ship. 

In  all  of  these  wonderful  changes  Verbeck 
had  more  or  less  influence.  In  recognition  of 
his  ability,  the  government  next  year  made 
him  adviser  to  the  Imperial  Japanese  Sen- 
ate. After  serving  five  years  in  this  unusual 
position  of  power,  he  was  decorated  by  the 
Emperor  with  the  great  Order  of  the  verbeck-s 
Rising  Sun.  In  1891  this  "man  with-  Death- 
out  a  country"  was  placed  under  the  especial 
protection  of  the  aegis  of  the  Japanese  em- 
pire, an  honor  without  parallel  in  the  entire 
history  of  Japan.  And  when,  on  March  10, 
1898,  he  quietly  fell  asleep,  the  Emperor  him- 
self paid  tribute  to  his  obsequies,  while  mili- 
tary honors  were  observed  above  his  grave, 
and  an  entire  nation  felt  the  touch  of  bereave- 
ment. This  sketch  has  taken  no  account  of 
his  tremendous  missionary  labors  as  such. 
Only  that. side  of  his  life  is  shown  which  is 
essential  to  an  understanding  of  the  forces 
that  made  " Young  Japan."  There  were 


234  YOUNG  JAPAN 

multitudes  of  foreign  teachers  who  labored 
with  him ;  but  he  stands  as  the  leader  of  them 
all,  the  great  tutor  of  the  Japanese  Revolu- 
tion. 

During  his  residence  in  Japan  he  saw  the 
nation  pass  through  all  the  throes  inevitable 
•me  Progress  upon  her  emergence  from  mediae- 
val hermitage  sheer  into  the  prom- 
inence of  an  actual  world-power,  which 
latter  feat  was  eventually  accomplished 
through  her  astonishing  war  with  China. 
This  landmark  event  in  her  history  was  pre- 
ceded by  a  long  series  of  struggles  between 
the  progressive  and  the  conservative  ele- 
ments, wherein  first  one  party  would  be  mo- 
mentarily successful  and  then  the  other ;  but 
the  progressive  element  gained  additional 
preponderance  after  each  encounter,  being 
strengthened  even  by  apparent  defeats. 

The  year  1873  continued  a  remarkable 
record  in  the  introduction  of  foreign  reforms. 
The  European  calendar  was  accepted,  vac- 
cination was  introduced  to  do  warfare 
against  the  ever  prevalent  scourge  of  small- 
pox, officials  adopted  the  European  dress, 
photography  became  a  veritable  fad,  while 
the  introduction  of  meat-eating  showed  that 
Buddhism  was  losing  its  hold  upon  the  peo- 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS        235 

pie  in  consequence  of  the  official  adoption  of 
Shinto. 

Certain  of  the  powerful  southern  clansmen, 
as  we  have  seen,  did  not  relish  the  extreme 
liberalism  of  their  colleagues  at  the  helm, 
but  they  were  none  the  less  determined  not 
to  endure  any  criticism  from  outsiders. 
Korea  had  become  most  insolent  since  the 
revolution  of  1868,  neglecting  to  pay  her  im- 
memorial tribute,  and  even  venturing  upon 
abusive  letters  in  which  she  taunted  Japan 
with  slavish  truckling  to  the  ''hairy  barba- 
rians" of  the  West.  This  was  more  than  the 
dissatisfied  conservatives  could  stand;  so  in 
1874  the  clansmen  of  Saga  raised  the  old- 
time  cry  "On  to  Korea!"  in  opposition  to 
the  wisdom  of  the  Tokyo  government,  which 
perceived  that  for  the  present,  at  The  saga 
least,  the  country  could  not  afford  ^^11™. 
to  dissipate  its  strength  in  a  foreign  war. 
The  government  troops  came  into  collision 
with  the  southern  soldiers,  so  intent  were 
these  upon  their  object,  but  the  rebellion  was 
quickly  suppressed ;  and  in  the  same  year  the 
government  allowed  these  volcanic  southern- 
ers to  vent  themselves  upon  the  Chinese  de- 
pendency of  Formosa,  whose  cannibals  had 
eaten  a  number  of  Japan 's  quasi  vassals  in 


236  YOUNG  JAPAN 

Loochoo.  Formosa  was  punished,  and  Loo- 
choo bound  closer  to  Japan,  while  China  at 
Fonnosan  first  threatened  war,  but  afterwards 
Expedition.  p&-(j  a  gru(jging  indemnity. 

In  the  year  1875  the  judiciary  system  was 
carried  on  towards  completion  by  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  court  of  cassation;  courts  of 
first  instance  and  courts  of  appeal  being 
already  in  existence.  In  the  same  year  an 
imperial  edict  created  a  senate,  or  house  of 
peers,  which  clearly  foreshadowed  a  parlia- 
ment. An  eminent  Japanese  statesman 
points  out  that  "thus,  even  at  that  early  day, 
a  system  was  established  in  Japan  resembling 
the  organization  adopted  by  some  west- 
ern nations  of  co-ordinate  governmental 
branches,  the  executive,  legislative,  and  ju- 
dicial. This  may  be  termed  the  first  step 
taken  by  the  imperial  government  to  pave  the 
way  for  the  adoption  of  the  constitutional 
system." 

The  lingering  Korean  unpleasantness  was 
happily  settled  in  1876,  when  the  government 
Treaty  with  concluded  a  treaty  which  not  only 
Korea.  satisfied  its  own  claims,  but  also 
opened  the  last  of  the  hermit  nations  to  the 
world.  This  year  was  also  notable  for  the 
adoption  of  Sunday  as  an  official  holiday, — 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         237 

largely  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  the  numer- 
ous foreign  employees  residing  in  Japan 
refused  to  labor  on  that  day. 

But  in  1877  the  Southern  reactionaries 
again  made  a  stand,  and  with  far  more  se- 
rious consequences  than  before.  satsuma 
Saigo,  a  veteran  warrior,  had  not  Rebellion- 
experienced  sufficient  relief  through  his  lead- 
ership of  the  Formosan  expedition.  He  fret- 
ted and  fumed  in  the  great  principality  of 
Satsuma,  having  despised  a  seat  in  the  pro- 
foreign  cabinet,  against  whom  he  was  so  vi- 
ciously resentful  that  he  and  his  compeers 
began  open  preparations  for  war.  When  the 
government  learned  that  a  great  arsenal  and 
two  large  powder-mills  were  the  scene  of 
busy  activities  in  Satsuma,  they  sent  thither 
large  bodies  of  imperial  troops  to  seize  these 
stores.  A  war  resulted,  which  lasted  eight 
months.  The  feeling  in  the  south  was  so  in- 
tense that  even  the  women  fought  under 
Saigo 's  banner.  The  Southern  army  num- 
bered forty  thousand  men,  who  struggled 
with  desperate  valor.  But  the  insurrection 
was  finally  suppressed,  and  with  the  surren- 
der of  Satsuma  the  main  strength  of  the 
opposition  was  broken. 

In  1879,  the  government  confirmed  its  hold 


238  YOUNG  JAPAN 

on  Loochoo,  in  spite  of  the  opposition  of 
China,  and  Japan  acquired  her  first  foreign 
Acquirement  of  colony.  The  year  was  further 
Loochoo.  notable  through  the  visit  of  Gen- 

eral Grant,  which  produced  a  most  favorable 
impression,  and  strengthened  the  pro-foreign 
influence.  The  source  of  the  government's 
troubles  now  shifted,  and  instead  of  having 
to  oppose  the  conservatives,  they  found  them- 
selves unable  to  keep  pace  with  the  liberals. 
These  were  not  even  satisfied  with  the  impe- 
rial promise,  delivered  in  1881,  to  establish  a 
constitutional  government  nine  years  later. 
Political  parties  were  formed,  and  the  general 
unrest  was  intensified  by  troubles  that  arose 
in  Korea.  Japan  succeeded  in  quelling  the 
riots  that  raged  in  "the  land  of  the  morning 
calm;"  but  China  seemed  to  become  sus- 
picious of  the  Mikado's  designs,  and  roundly 
declared  that  Korea  should  not  meet  the  fate 
of  Loochoo.  Chinese  troops  invested  the 
country,  and  ill  feeling  was  engendered  that 
resulted  in  the  Chino-Japanese  war  twelve 
An  years  later.  A  nominal  agree- 

ment  was  reached,  however,  in 


with  China.  .  ..     ,  ~,  .  , 

a  treaty  signed  by  China  and 
Japan  in  1885  whereby  the  two  countries 
assumed  a  sort  of  joint  protectorate  over 


MODERN    SCHOOL-DAYS         239 

the  land  of  the  ironical  name,  exchanging  a 
mutual  pledge  that  in  case  of  any  future  dis- 
turbances neither  power  should  land  troops 
in  Korea  without  first  giving  notice  to  the 
other. 

Events  now  rapidly  moulded  themselves 
towards  the  adoption  of  the  promised  consti- 
tution. A  supreme  court  was  A  roachof 
established  in  1884,  a  system  of  constitutional 
nobility  was  adopted  on  the  Eu- 
ropean pattern,  and  English  introduced  as  a 
branch  of  study  in  the  common  schools.  In 
1885  such  sweeping  reforms  were  made  in  the 
administration  that  it  is  known  politically  as 
the  year  of  "the  great  earthquake."  Then 
it  was  that  the  present-day  leaders  came  to 
the  front,  and  especially  It5,  who  ranks 
to-day  as  the  most  powerful  statesman  of  the 
East,  and  one  of  the  few  political  leaders  of 
the  world.  He  had  but  just  returned  from 
Europe,  where  he  had  spent  four  years  in  the 
study  of  national  constitutions,  with  a  view  to 
the  preparation  of  the  constitution  promised 
by  the  Emperor.  A  veritable  "foreign 
fever"  now  set  in,  which  continued  through- 
out several  years.  Everything  from  the 
West,  including  Christianity,  was  seized  with 
an  avidity  that  could  hardly  prove  to  be 


240  YOUNG  JAPAN 

wholesome.  Japanese  ladies  adopted  the 
awkward  European  dress;  the  importation 
of  Western  dancing  gave  rise  to  grave  scan- 
dals; the  streets  were  a  tangle  of  clumsy 
velocipedes;  Japan  became  a  land  of  mono- 
maniacs. 

But  a  reaction  speedily  followed.  This  was 
hastened  by  the  refusal  of  Western  nations  to 
Foreign  Fever  allow  a  revision  of  the  treaties, 
and  Reaction.  By  the  old  treaties  the  govern- 
ment was  bound  not  to  impose  a  heavier  cus- 
toms tax  than  five  per  cent,  on  the  importa- 
tion of  foreign  merchandise,  which  greatly 
crippled  the  revenues.  More  than  this,  the 
treaties  wounded  the  pride  of  Japan  by  re- 
quiring that  all  foreigners  accused  of  mis- 
demeanor should  be  tried  by  alien  tribunals, 
albeit  on  Japanese  territory.  When  the 
Japanese  diplomatists  failed  in  1887  in  their 
arduous  efforts  to  secure  an  equitable  revi- 
sion, resentment  was  naturally  aroused,  and 
foreign  friendship  mistrusted.  By  the  year 
1889  the  reaction  in  favor  of  native  customs 
had  reached  its  height,  and  murderous 
assaults  were  made  by  soshi  (the  modern 
counterpart  of  the  ronin)  not  only  upon  for- 
eigners, but  also  on  certain  pro-foreign 
statesmen.  The  assassins  wrought  costly 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS        241 

i 

havoc  in  the  murder  of  Viscount  Mori,  who 
ranks  with  the  martyred  Okubo  as  a  creator 
of  the  new  Japan. 

But  the  year  was  worthily  signalized  by  the 
promulgation  of  the  new  constitution.  On 
the  very  day  that  Mori  was  slain,  The  New 
-February  11,  1889,— the  Em-  constitution. 
peror  appeared  in  the  throne-room,  amid  the 
assembled  nobles  of  the  realm  and  the  rep- 
resentatives of  all  the  great  powers,  to  seal 
with  impressive  ceremonial  the  transition  of 
Japan  from  an  absolute  to  a  constitutional 
monarchy.  A  year  before  he  had  appointed 
a  special  " privy  council,"  over  whose  delib- 
erations he  had  presided,  that  the  wisest 
thought  of  the  realm  might  be  spent  in  the 
testing  of  Ito's  labors.  Already  the  Marquis 
had  had  the  assistance  of  a  commission  of 
three  learned  statesmen,  who,  during  the  sev- 
eral years  that  had  succeeded  his  return  from 
his  studies  in  Europe,  gave  themselves  under 
his  presidency  to  a  careful  preparation  of  the 
draft.*  Thus  the  entire  period  that  had  in- 
tervened since  the  Emperor's  promise,  had 

*  The  author  is  indebted  to  a  member  of  this  com- 
mission, Baron  Kaneko,  for  valuable  information  bear- 
ing on  this  subject.  See  the  Century  Magazine  for  July, 
1904. 

16 


242  .     YOUNG  JAPAN 

been  occupied  with  the  most  painstaking  care 
in  the  preparation  of  Japan's  "magna 
charta."  The  instrument  is  in  every  way 
worthy.  The  late  James  Gr.  Elaine  pro- 
nounced it  to  be  structurally  perfect;  Her- 
bert Spencer  and  James  Bryce  have  called 
it  an  extraordinary  success. 

The  constitution  is  strong  in  its  simplicity. 

It  contains  only  the  fundamental  principles 

of  state,  while  matters  of  detail 

Its  Simplicity.  . 

are  embodied  in  supplemental 
laws.  Its  seventy-six  articles  are  confined  to 
1 1  the  prerogatives  of  the  Emperor ;  the  rights 
and  duties  of  the  people ;  the  powers  of  par- 
liament; the  powers  and  duties  of  ministers 
of  state  and  judiciary  and  finance."  The 
entire  instrument  is  the  logical  outcome  of 
Mutsuhito's  "charter  oath,"  delivered  in 
1869.*  It  is  given  herewith,  in  a  translation 
effected  at  Johns  Hopkins  University  in  the 
year  of  its  adoption. 

THE    CONSTITUTION    OF   JAPAN. 

HAVING,  by  virtue  of  the  glories  of  Our  Ancestors, 
ascended  the  throne  of  a  lineal  succession  unbroken  for 
ages  eternal;  desiring  to  promote  the  welfare  of,  and 
to  give  development  to  the  moral  and  intellectual  fac- 

*  See  page  221. 


MODERN    SCHOOL-DAYS         243 

ulties  of  Our  beloved  subjects,  the  very  same  that  have 
been  favoured  with  the  benevolent  care  and  affectionate 
vigilance  of  Our  Ancestors;  and  hoping  to  maintain 
the  prosperity  of  the  State,  in  concert  with  Our  people 
and  with  their  support,  We  hereby  promulgate,  in  pur- 
suance of  Our  Imperial  Rescript  of  the  14th  day  of  the 
10th  month  of  the  14th  year  of  Meiji,  a  fundamental 
law  of  State,  to  exhibit  the  principles  by  which  We  are 
to  be  guided  in  Our  conduct,  and  to  point  out  to  what 
Our  descendants  and  Our  subjects  and  their  descendants 
are  to  forever  conform.  The  rights  of  sovereignty  of 
the  State,  We  have  inherited  from  Our  Ancestors,  and 
We  shall  bequeath  them  to  Our  descendants.  Neither 
We  nor  they  shall  in  future  fail  to  wield  them,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution  hereby 
granted.  We  now  declare  to  respect  and  protect  the 
security  of  the  rights  and  the  property  of  Our  people, 
and  to  secure  to  them  the  complete  enjoyment  of  the 
same,  within  the  extent  of  the  provisions  of  the  present 
Constitution  and  of  the  law.  The  Imperial  Diet  shall 
first  be  convoked  for  the  23d  year  of  Meiji,  and  the  time 
of  its  opening  shall  be  the  date,  when  the  present  Con- 
stitution comes  into  force.  When  in  the  future  it  may 
become  necessary  to  amend  any  of  the  provisions  of  the 
present  Constitution,  We  or  Our  successors  shall  assume 
the  initiative  right,  and  submit  a  project  for  the  same 
to  the  Imperial  Diet.  The  Imperial  Diet  shall  pass  its 
vote  upon  it,  according  to  the  conditions  imposed  by 
the  present  Constitution,  and  in  no  other  wise  shall  Our 
descendants  or  Our  subjects  be  permitted  to  attempt  any 
alteration  thereof.  Our  Ministers  of  State,  on  Our 
behalf,  shall  be  held  responsible  for  the  carrying  out 
of  the  present  Constitution,  and  Our  present  and  future 


244  YOUNG  JAPAN 

subjects  shall  assume  the  duty  of  allegiance  to  the  pres- 
ent Constitution.  (His  Imperial  Majesty's  Sign-Man- 
ual.) The  llth  day  of  the  2nd  month  of  the  22nd  year  of 
Meiji.  (Countersigned  by  Ministers.) 

CHAPTER   I.  (EMPEROR.) 

ARTICLE  I.  The  Empire  of  Japan  shall  be  reigned 
over  by  and  governed  by  a  line  of  Emperors  unbroken 
for  ages  eternal. 

ARTICLE  II.  The  Imperial  Throne  shall  be  succeeded 
to  by  Imperial  descendants,  according  to  the  provisions 
of  the  Imperial  House  Law. 

ARTICLE  III.    The  Emperor  is  sacred  and  inviolable. 

ARTICLE  IV.  The  Emperor  is  head  of  the  Empire, 
combining  in  Himself  the  rights  of  sovereignty,  and  ex- 
ercising them,  according  to  the  provisions  of  the  present 
Constitution. 

ARTICLE  V.  The  Emperor  exercises  the  legislative 
power  with  the  consent  of  the  Imperial  Diet. 

ARTICLE  VI.  The  Emperor  gives  sanction  t'o  the  laws, 
and  orders  them  to  be  promulgated  and  executed. 

ARTICLE  VII.  The  Emperor  convokes  the  Imperial 
Diet,  opens,  closes,  and  prorogues  it,  and  dissolves  the 
House  of  Representatives. 

ARTICLE  VIII.  The  Emperor,  in  consequence  of  an 
urgent  necessity  to  maintain  public  safety  or  to  avert 
public  calamities,  issues,  when  the  Imperial  Diet  is  not 
sitting,  Imperial  Ordinances  in  the  place  of  law.  Such 
Imperial  Ordinances  are  to  be  laid  before  the  Imperial 
Diet  at  its  next  session,  and  when  the  Diet  does  not 
approve  the  said  Ordinances,  the  Government  shall  de- 
clare them  to  be  invalid  for  the  future. 

ARTICLE  IX.     The  Emperor  issues,  or  causes  to  be 


MODERN    SCHOOL-DAYS         245 

issued,  the  ordinances  necessary  for  the  carrying  out 
of  the  laws,  or  for  the  maintenance  of  the  public  peace 
and  order,  and  for  the  promotion  of  the  welfare  of  the 
subjects.  But  no  ordinance  shall  in  any  way  alter  any 
of  the  existing  laws. 

ARTICLE  X.  The  Emperor  determines  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  different  branches  of  the  administration,  and 
the  salaries  of  all  civil  and  military  officers,  and  appoints 
and  dismisses  the  same.  Exceptions  especially  provided 
for  in  the  present  Constitution  or  in  other  laws,  shall 
be  in  accordance  with  the  respective  provisions  (bearing 
thereon). 

ARTICLE  XL  The  Emperor  has  the  supreme  command 
of  the  Army  and  Navy. 

ARTICLE  XII.  The  Emperor  determines  the  organiza- 
tion and  peace-standing  of  the  Army  and  Navy. 

ARTICLE  XIII.  The  Emperor  declares  war,  makes 
peace,  and  concludes  treaties. 

ARTICLE  XIV.  The  Emperor  proclaims  the  law  of 
siege.  The  conditions  and  effects  of  the  law  of  siege 
shall  be  determined  by  law. 

ARTICLE  XV.  The  Emperor  confers  titles  of  nobility, 
rank,  orders,  and  other  marks  of  honor. 

ARTICLE  XVI.  The  Emperor  orders  amnesty,  pardon, 
commutation  of  punishment,  and  rehabilitation. 

ARTICLE  XVII.  A  Regency  shall  be  instituted  in  con- 
formity with  the  provisions  of  the  Imperial  House  Law. 
The  Regent  shall  exercise  the  powers  appertaining  to 
the  Emperor  in  His  name. 

CHAPTER   II.  (SUBJECTS.) 

ARTICLE  XVIII.  The  conditions  for  being  a  Jap- 
anese subject  shall  be  determined  by  law. 


246  YOUNG  JAPAN 

ABTICLE  XIX.  Japanese  subjects  may,  according  to 
qualifications  determined  in  law  or  ordinances,  be  ap- 
pointed to  civil  or  military  offices  equally,  and  may  fill 
any  other  offices. 

ARTICLE  XX.  Japanese  subjects  are  amenable  to 
service  in  the  Army  or  Navy,  according  to  the  pro- 
visions of  law. 

ARTICLE  XXI.  Japanese  subjects  are  amenable  to  the 
duty  of  paying  taxes,  according  to  the  provisions  of 
law. 

ARTICLE  XXII.  Japanese  subjects  shall  have  the  lib- 
erty of  abode  and  of  changing  the  same  within  the 
limits  of  law. 

ARTICLE  XXIII.  No  Japanese  subject  shall  be  ar- 
rested, detained,  tried,  or  punished,  unless  according 
to  law. 

ARTICLE  XXIV.  No  Japanese  subject  shall  be  de- 
prived of  his  right  of  being  tried  by  the  judges  deter- 
mined by  law. 

ARTICLE  XXV.  Except  in  the  cases  provided  for  in 
the  law,  the  house  of  no  Japanese  shall  be  entered  or 
searched  without  his  consent. 

ARTICLE  XXVI.  Except  in  the  cases  mentioned  in 
the  law,  the  secrecy  of  the  letters  of  every  Japanese 
subject  shall  remain  inviolate. 

ARTICLE  XXVII.  The  right  of  property  of  every 
Japanese  subject  shall  remain  inviolate.  Measures 
necessary  to  be  taken  for  the  public  benefit  shall  be  pro- 
vided for  by  law. 

ARTICLE  XXVIII.  Japanese  subjects  shall,  within 
limits  not  prejudicial  to  peace  and  order,  and  not  an- 
tagonistic to  their  duties  as  subjects,  enjoy  freedom  of 
religious  belief. 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS        247 

ARTICLE  XXIX.  Japanese  subjects  shall,  within  the 
limits  of  law,  enjoy  the  liberty  of  speech,  writing,  pub- 
lication, public  meetings,  and  associations. 

ARTICLE  XXX.  Japanese  subjects  may  present  peti- 
tions, by  observing  the  proper  forms  of  respect,  and  by 
complying  with  the  rules  specially  provided  for  the 
same. 

ARTICLE  XXXI.  The  provisions  contained  in  the 
present  Chapter  shall  not  affect  the  exercise  of  the 
powers  appertaining  to  the  Emperor  in  times  of  war  or 
in  cases  of  national  emergency. 

ARTICLE  XXXII.  Each  and  every  one  of  the  pro- 
visions contained  in  the  preceding  articles  of  the  pres- 
ent Chapter,  that  are  not  in  conflict  with  the  laws  or 
rules  and  discipline  of  the  Army  and  Navy,  shall  apply 
to  the  officers  and  men  of  the  Army  and  Navy. 

CHAPTER   III.  (DIET.) 

ARTICLE  XXXIII.  The  Imperial  Diet  shall  consist  of 
two  Houses,  a  House  of  Peers  and  a  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives. 

ARTICLE  XXXIV.  The  House  of  Peers  shall,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  Ordinance  concerning  the  House  of 
Peers,  be  composed  of  members  of  the  Imperial  Family, 
of  the  orders  of  nobility,  and  of  those  persons  who 
have  been  nominated  thereto  by  the  Emperor. 

ARTICLE  XXXV.  The  House  of  Representatives  shall 
be  composed  of  Members  elected  by  the  people  accord- 
ing to  the  provisions  of  the  Law  of  Election. 

ARTICLE  XXXVI.  No  one  can  at  one  and  the  same 
time  be  a  member  of  both  Houses. 

ARTICLE  XXXVII.  Every  law  requires  the  consent  of 
the  Imperial  Diet. 


248  YOUNG  JAPAN 

ARTICLE  XXXVIII.  Both  Houses  shall  vote  on  proj- 
ects of  law  submitted  to  it  by  the  Government,  and  may 
respectively  initiate  projects  of  law. 

ARTICLE  XXXIX.  A  Bill,  which  has  been  rejected  by 
either  the  one  or  the  other  of  the  Houses,  shall  not  be 
again  brought  in  during  the  same  session. 

ARTICLE  XL.  Both  Houses  can  make  representations 
to  the  Government,  as  to  laws  or  upon  any  other  sub- 
ject. When,  however,  such  representations  are  not  ac- 
cepted, they  cannot  be  made  a  second  time  during  the 
same  session. 

ARTICLE  XLI.  The  Imperial  Diet  shall  be  convoked 
every  year. 

ARTICLE  XLII.  A  session  of  the  Imperial  Diet  shall 
last  during  three  months.  In  case  of  necessity,  the 
duration  of  a  sessioii  may  be  prolonged  by  the  Imperial 
Order. 

ARTICLE  XLIII.  When  urgent  necessity  arises,  an 
extraordinary  session  may  be  convoked,  in  addition  to 
the  ordinary  one.  The  duration  of  an  extraordinary 
session  shall  be  determined  by  Imperial  Order. 

ARTICLE  XLIV.  The  opening,  closing,  prolongation 
of  session,  and  prorogation  of  the  Imperial  Diet,  shall 
be  effected  simultaneously  for  both  Houses.  In  case  the 
House  of  Representatives  has  been  ordered  to  dissolve, 
the  House  of  Peers  shall  at  the  same  time  be  prorogued. 

ARTICLE  XLV.  When  the  House  of  Representatives 
has  been  ordered  to  dissolve,  members  shall  be  caused  by 
Imperial  Order  to  be  newly  elected,  and  the  new  House 
shall  be  convoked  within  five  months  from  the  day  of 
dissolution. 

ARTICLE  XLVI.  No  debate  can  be  opened  and  no 
vote  can  be  taken  in  either  House  of  the  Imperial  Diet, 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS        249 

unless  not  less  than  one-third  of  the  whole  numbers  of 
the  members  thereof  be  present. 

ARTICLE  XL VII.  Votes  shall  be  taken  in  both  Houses 
by  absolute  majority.  In  case  of  a  tie-vote  the  presi- 
dent shall  have  the  casting  vote. 

ARTICLE  XL VIII.  The  deliberations  of  both  Houses 
shall  be  held  in-  public.  The  deliberations  may,  how- 
ever, upon  demand  of  the  Government  or  by  resolution 
of  the  House,  be  held  in  secret  sitting. 

ARTICLE  XLIX.  Both  Houses  of  the  Imperial  Diet 
may  respectively  present  addresses  to  the  Emperor. 

ARTICLE  L.  Both  Houses  may  receive  petitions  pre- 
sented by  subjects. 

ARTICLE  LI.  Both  Houses  may  enact,  besides  what  is 
provided  for  in  the  present  Constitution  and  in  the  Law 
of  the  Houses,  rules  necessary  for  the  management  of 
their  internal  affairs. 

ARTICLE  LII.  No  member  of  either  House  shall  be 
held  responsible  outside  the  respective  Houses,  for  any 
opinion  uttered  or  any  vote  given  in  the  House.  When, 
however,  a  member  himself  has  given  publicity  to  his 
opinions  by  public  speech,  by  documents  in  printing  or 
in  writing,  or  by  any  similar  means  he  shall,  in  the 
matter,  be  amenable  to  the  general  law. 

ARTICLE  LIII.  The  members  of  both  Houses  shall, 
during  the  session,  be  freed  from  arrest,  unless  with  the 
consent  of  the  House,  except  in  cases  of  flagrant  delicts, 
or  of  offences  connected  with  a  state  of  internal  com- 
motion or  with  a  foreign  trouble. 

ARTICLE  LIV.  The  Ministers  of  State  and  the  Dele- 
gates of  the  Government  may,  at  any  time,  take  seats 
and  speak  in  either  House. 


250  YOUNG  JAPAN 

CHAPTER   IV.  (MINISTRY.) 

ARTICLE  LV.  The  respective  Ministers  of  State  shall 
give  their  advice  to  the  Emperor,  and  be  responsible  for 
it.  All  Laws,  Imperial  Ordinances,  and  Imperial  Re- 
scripts of  whatever  kind,  that  relate  to  the  affairs  of 
the  State,  require  the  countersignature  of  a  Minister  of 
State. 

ARTICLE  LVI.  The  Privy  Council  shall,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  provisions  for  the  organization  of  the 
Privy  Council,  deliberate  upon  important  matters  of 
State,  when  they  have  been  consulted  by  the  Emperor. 

CHAPTER  V.  (JUDICIARY.) 

ARTICLE  LVIL  The  Judicature  shall  be  exercised  by 
the  Courts  of  Law  according  to  law,  in  the  name  of  the 
Emperor.  The  organization  of  the  Courts  of  Law  shall 
be  determined  by  law. 

ARTICLE  LVIII.  The  judges  shall  be  appointed  from 
among  those,  who  possess  proper  qualifications  accord- 
ing to  law.  No  judge  shall  be  deprived  of  his  posi- 
tion, unless  by  way  of  criminal  sentence  or  disciplinary 
punishment.  Rules  for  disciplinary  punishment  shall 
be  determined  by  law. 

ARTICLE  LIX.  Trials  and  judgments  of  a  Court  shall 
be  conducted  publicly.  When,  however,  there  exists  any 
fear  that  such  publicity  may  be  prejudicial  to  peace  and 
order,  or  to  the  maintenance  of  public  morality,  the 
public  trial  may  be  suspended  by  provision  of  law  or 
by  the  decision  of  the  Court  of  Law. 

ARTICLE  LX.  All  matters  that  fall  within  the  compe- 
tency of  a  special  Court,  shall  be  specially  provided  for 
by  law. 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         251 

ARTICLE  LXI.  No  suit  at  law,  which  relates  to  rights 
alleged  to  have  been  infringed  by  the  legal  measures  of 
the  executive  authorities,  and  which  shall  come  within 
the  competency  of  the  Court  of  Administrative  Litiga- 
tion specially  established  by  law,  shall  be  taken  cog- 
nizance of  by  a  Court  of  Law. 


CHAPTER  VI.  (FINANCE.) 

ARTICLE  LXII.  The  imposition  of  a  new  tax  or  the 
modification  of  the  rates  (of  an  existing  one)  shall  be 
determined  by  law.  However,  all  such  administrative 
fees  or  other  revenue  having  the  nature  of  compensation 
shall  not  fall  within  the  category  of  the  above  clause. 
The  raising  of  national  loans  and  the  contracting  of 
other  liabilities  to  the  charge  of  the  national  treasury, 
except  those  that  are  provided  in  the  Budget,  shall  re- 
quire the  consent  of  the  Imperial  Diet. 

ARTICLE  LXIII.  The  taxes  levied  at  present  shall,  in 
so  far  as  they  are  not  remodelled  by  new  law,  be  col- 
lected according  to  the  old  system. 

ARTICLE  LXIV.  The  expenditure  and  revenue  of  the 
State  require  the  consent  of  the  Imperial  Diet  by  means 
of  an  annual  Budget.  Any  and  all  expenditures  over- 
passing the  appropriations  set  forth  in  the  Titles  and 
Paragraphs  of  the  Budget,  shall  subsequently  require 
the  approbation  of  the  Imperial  Diet. 

ARTICLE  LXV.  The  Budget  shall  be  first  laid  before 
the  House  of  Representatives. 

ARTICLE  LXVI.  The  expenditures  of  the  Imperial 
House  shall  be  defrayed  every  year  out  of  the  National 
Treasury,  according  to  the  present  fixed  amount  for  the 
same,  and  shall  not  require  the  consent  thereto  of  the 


252  YOUNG  JAPAN 

Imperial  Diet,  except  in  case  an  increase  thereof  is 
found  necessary. 

ARTICLE  LXVIL  Those  already  fixed  expenditures 
based  by  the  Constitution  upon  the  powers  appertaining 
to  the  Emperor,  and  such  expenditures  as  may  have 
arisen  by  the  effect  of  the  law,  or  that  appertain  to  the 
legal  obligations  of  the  Government,  shall  be  neither 
rejected  nor  reduced  by  the  Imperial  Diet,  without  the 
concurrence  of  the  Government. 

ARTICLE  LXVIII.  In  order  to  meet  special  require- 
ments, the  Government  may  ask  the  consent  of  the  Im- 
perial Diet  to  a  certain  amount  as  a  Continuing  Ex- 
penditure Fund,  for  a  previously  fixed  number  of 
years. 

ARTICLE  LXIX.  In  order  to  supply  deficiencies  which 
are  unavoidable,  in  the  Budget,  and  to  meet  require- 
ments unprovided  for  in  the  same,  a  Reserve  Fund  shall 
be  provided  in  the  Budget. 

ARTICLE  LXX.  When  the  Imperial  Diet  cannot  be 
convoked,  owing  to  the  external  or  the  internal  condi- 
tion of  the  country,  in  case  of  urgent  need  for  the 
maintenance  of  public  safety,  the  Government  may  take 
all  necessary  financial  measures,  by  means  of  an  Impe- 
rial Ordinance.  In  the  case  mentioned  in  the  preceding 
clause,  the  matter  shall  be  submitted  to  the  Imperial 
Diet  at  its  next  session,  and  its  approbation  shall  be 
obtained  thereto. 

ARTICLE  LXXI.  When  the  Imperial  Diet  has  not 
voted  on  the  Budget,  or  when  the  Budget  has  not  been 
brought  into  actual  existence,  the  Government  shall  carry 
out  the  Budget  of  the  preceding  year. 

ARTICLE  LXXII.  The  final  account  of  the  expendi- 
tures and  revenue  of  the  State  shall  be  verified  and  con- 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         253 

firmed  by  the  Board  of  Audit,  and  it  shall  be  submitted 
by  the  Government  to  the  Imperial  Diet,  together  with 
the  report  of  verification  of  said  Board.  The  organiza- 
tion and  competency  of  the  Board  of  Audit  shall  be 
determined  by  law  separately. 


CHAPTER   VII.  (RULES.) 

ARTICLE  LXXIII.  When  it  has  become  necessary  in 
the  future  to  amend  the  provisions  of  the  present  Con- 
stitution, a  project  to  that  effect  shall  be  submitted  to 
the  Imperial  Diet  by  Imperial  Order.  In  the  above 
case,  neither  House  can  open  the  debate,  unless  not  less 
than  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  Members  are 
present,  and  no  amendment  can  be  passed  unless  a 
majority  of  not  less  than  two-thirds  of  the  Members 
present  is  obtained. 

ARTICLE  LXXIV.  No  modification  of  the  Imperial 
House  Law  shall  be  required  to  be  submitted  to  the  de- 
liberation of  the  Imperial  Diet.  No  provision  of  the 
present  Constitution  can  be  modified  by  the  Imperial 
House  Law. 

ARTICLE  LXXV.  No  modification  can  be  introduced 
into  the  Constitution,  or  into  the  Imperial  House  Law, 
during  the  time  of  a  Regency. 

ARTICLE  LXXVI.  Existing  legal  enactments,  such  as 
laws,  regulations,  Ordinances,  or  by  whatever  names 
they  may  be  called,  shall,  so  far  as  they  do  not  conflict 
with  the  present  Constitution,  continue  in  force.  All 
existing  contracts  or  orders,  that  entail  obligations  upon 
the  Government,  and  that  are  connected  with  expendi- 
ture shall  come  within  the  scope  of  Art.  LXVII. 


254  YOUNG  JAPAN 

This  constitution  is  a  remarkable  example 
of  the  eclectic  methods  whereby  Japan  has 
An  Eclectic  built  up  all  of  her  modern  na- 
constitution.  tional  structures.  The  imperial- 
ist features  are  borrowed  from  the  Germans, 
while  the  theory  of  equal  rights  is  taken  from 
the  English.  The  house  of  peers  is  moulded 
on  the  Prussian  model,  while  the  house  of  rep- 
resentatives savors  of  America  and  France. 
The  experience  of  the  "Long  Parliament"  in 
England  taught  the  advisability  of  guarantee- 
ing to  members  the  right  of  free  speech,  while 
from  Bismarck  was  acquired  an  important 
hint  which  enables  the  ministry  to  checkmate 
any  obstreperous  diet  that  might  refuse  to 
pass  the  budget, — "when  the  Imperial  Diet 
has  not  voted  on  the  Budget,  the  Govern- 
ment shall  carry  out  the  Budget  of  the  pre- 
ceding year. ' '  Thus  the  wily  empire-builders 
learned  lessons  from  this  country  and  that, 
making  for  themselves  a  constitution  equal  to 
that  of  any  other  country  in  the  world.  A 
shrewd  historical  scholar  has  recently  said 
that '  *  if  Nicholas  and  his  council  of  state  had 
the  insight  and  the  moral  courage  of  Mutsu- 
hito  and  the  statesmen  of  the  Japanese 
Kestoration,  they  could  by  a  similar  policy 
increase  the  power,  the  safety,  and  the  devel- 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         255 

opment  of  Russia  in  an  almost  miraculous 
degree. ' ' 

The  way  had  been  paved  for  the  sessions  of 
the  Diet  by  the  establishment  of  prefectural 
assemblies  so  long  ago  as  1879. 

The  New  Diet. 

These  correspond  m  some  degree 
at  least  to  our  State  legislatures,  each  prefect 
being  administered  by  a  governor  (appointed, 
however,  from  Tokyo),  who  submits  the  fiscal 
proposals.  Ten  years  of  actual  practice  in 
local  deliberative  assemblies  qualified  the 
members  of  the  new  Diet  for  their  more  re- 
sponsible positions,  and  thus  the  chief  func- 
tion of  the  prefectural  assemblies  is  doubtless 
that  of  a  fitting  school.  The  first  session  of 
the  Diet  (held  in  the  winter  of  1890-1891) 
was  somewhat  stormy,  however,  and  certain 
subsequent  sessions  have  sometimes  reached 
an  extremity  of  disturbance  that  have  made 
scholars  tremble  for  the  future  of  constitu- 
tional government  in  Japan.  But  Baron 
Kaneko  now  points  out  that  since  twenty  ses- 
sions have  been  held  without  doing  violence 
to  constitutional  rights  or  restrictions,  "it 
can  be  justly  claimed  that  constitutional  gov- 
ernment has  passed  the  experimental  stage 
in  Japan  and  has  become  an  integral  part  of 
the  body  politic. ' ' 


256  YOUNG  JAPAN 

The  wording  of  this  instrument  is  ambigu- 
ous with  reference  to  the  responsibility  of  the 
ministry.  Until  the  year  1898,  it  was  claimed 
that  their  sole  accountability  was  to  the  Em- 
peror, which  means  that  they  accounted  to 
themselves.  In  that  year,  however,  a  great 
victory  was  gained  in  behalf  of  a  more  popu- 
lar government  by  establishing  the  responsi- 
bility of  the  ministry  to  the  Diet. 

The  house  of  peers  is  composed  partly  of 
hereditary  members,  partly  of  those  who  are 
The  TWO  nominated  or  elected.  The  higher 
Houses.  nobility  hold  seats  for  life,  and  so  do 
such  men  of  ability  as  may  be  nominated  to 
office  by  the  Emperor.  Those  who  are  elected 
serve  for  a  term  of  seven  years.  The  house 
of  representatives  consists  of  about  three 
hundred  members,  who  must  be  at  least  thirty 
years  of  age  and  pay  national  taxes  amount- 
ing to  at  least  fifteen  yen  ($7.50).  Their  term 
of  service  is  four  years.  The  electorate  is 
limited  by  a  property  qualification,  so  that 
the  voters  of  Japan  form  only  about  two  per 
cent,  of  the  whole  population. 

In  spite  of  the  numerous  stormy  sessions 
of  the  Diet,  and  the  frequent  convulsions  in 
the  ministry,  the  country  has  always  acted 
as  one  man  where  foreign  relations  were 


MODERN    SCHOOL-DAYS         257 

involved.  This  was  notably  true  in  con- 
nection with  the  Chinese  war.  Up  to  the 
declaration  of  hostilities,  Marquis  Ito  had 
been  the  target  for  continual  and  violent  at- 
tacks on  the  floor  of  the  house  of  representa- 
tives, so  that,  every  bill  of  his  having  been 
defeated,  he  twice  took  advantage  of  his  posi- 
tion as  premier  and  dissolved  the  Diet.  It 
was  freely  predicted  in  the  West  that  the  in- 
ternal dissensions  of  Japan  would  make  her 
an  easy  prey  in  the  clutches  of  her  huge 
angry  neighbor.  But  when  war  was  actually 
declared,  the  Diet  rallied  to  the  support  of  the 
Marquis,  and  one  of  his  associates  informs 
us  that  "  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  Parliament 
in  Japan,  we  could  never  have  fought  the 
Japanese-Chinese  war  to  a  successful  con- 
clusion. ' ' 

The  superficial  story  of  this  war  may  be 
told  in  very  few  words.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that  in  1884,  after  Japan  had  The  Chinese 
quelled  the  murderous  riots  that 
raged  in  "the  land  of  the  morning  calm,"  a 
treaty  was  signed  with  China  whereby  the 
agreement  was  reached  that  neither  power 
should  in  future  send  troops  to  Korea  with- 
out first  giving  due  notice  to  the  other.  Japan 
showed  great  generosity  in  signing  such  a 

17 


258  YOUNG  JAPAN 

treaty  with  China  in  view  of  her  far  larger 
suzerain  rights,  and  in  the  face  of  the  inces- 
sant Celestial  bickerings.  But  the  treaty  was 
signed ;  and  whatever  may  be  said  of  the  in- 
dividual Japanese  honesty,  the  government 
itself  has  always  been  scrupulously  honest 
in  all  of  its  international  promises.  Not  so 
with  China.  When,  in  1894,  riots  amounting 
almost  to  domestic  war  broke  out  in  the 
wretchedly  misgoverned  country,  China  very 
promptly  attempted  to  strengthen  her 
Korean  pretensions  by  sending  thither  a 
large  body  of  troops,  contemptuously  ig- 
noring the  agreement  of  giving  previous 
notice  to  Japan.  Japan  also  thereupon  sent 
troops  to  Korea,  but  only  after  notice  had 
been  served  upon  China.  The  proximity  of 
the  turbulent  little  country,  and  its  power 
to  awaken  dissensions  in  Japan,  made  it 
imperative  for  the  Japanese  government 
to  undertake  some  measures  that  might 
insure  Korean  reforms  and  bring  about  a 
consequent  enduring  peace.  Japan,  there- 
fore, generously  ignoring  the  contemptuous 
action  of  her  treaty  associate,  proposed  that 
they  should  jointly  undertake  the  introduc- 
tion of  Korean  reforms;  but  added,  with 
commendable  firmness,  that  if  China  should 


MODERN    SCHOOL-DAYS         259 

not  co-operate,  she  would  feel  compelled  to 
proceed  alone.  China  not  only  refused  to  co- 
operate, but  demanded  that  Japan  should 
withdraw  her  troops.  Japan,  however,  sent 
over  more  soldiers,  and  prepared  for  the  in- 
troductions of  reforms.  The  Korean  king 
(who  is  now  "emperor")  heartily  seconded 
this  movement,  but  the  powerful  and  riotous 
"Ming"  faction,  who  had  been  the  imme- 
diate cause  of  all  of  the  troubles,  intrigued 
with  China  and  assaulted  the  escort  of  the 
Japanese  minister.  Shortly  thereafter,  on  the 
attempt  of  the  Chinese  to  land  more  troops 
in  Korea,  Japanese  war-vessels  attacked  the 
Chinese  transports,  and  actual  hostilities 
began.  On  the  first  day  of  August,  1894,  the 
Chinese  emperor  issued  a  formal  declaration 
of  war,  wherein  he  claimed  that  "Korea  has 
been  our  tributary  for  the  last  two  hundred 
years,"  and  derided  the  Japanese  as  "pyg- 
mies." "We  have  always  followed  the  paths 
of  philanthropy  and  perfect  justice, ' '  the  dec- 
laration continues,  "while  the  pygmies,  on 
the  other  hand,  have  broken  all  the  laws  of 
nations  and  treaties,  which  it  passes  our  pa- 
tience to  bear  with.  Hence  we  command  Li 
Hung  Chang  to  give  strict  orders  to  our  vari- 


260  YOUNG  JAPAN 

ous  armies  to  hasten  with  all  speed  to  root 
the  pygmies  out  of  their  lairs. ' ' 

The  event  proved,  however,  that  the  "pyg- 
mies" possessed  a  strength  out  of  all  propor- 
The  Peace  tion  to  their  size.  The  country 
Negotiations.  ranje(j  to  the  support  of  Marquis 

Ito's  vigorous  policy,  and  Europe's  almost 
universal  feeling  of  pity  for  the  * l  little  brown 
people"  was  swiftly  changed  to  amazed 
admiration.  After  a  brief  but  thrilling  cam- 
paign, the  Chinese  emperor  commanded  Li 
Hung  Chang  to  go  peacefully  into  the  l  i  lairs ' ' 
of  these  "pygmies"  and  arrange  for  a  tem- 
porary armistice.  An  irresponsible  soshi — 
Japan's  noxious  inheritance  from  feudalism 
—complicated  the  situation  severely  by  an 
assault  on  the  Chinese  ambassador  at  Shimo- 
noseki  (March  24,  1895).  The  writer  of  this 
volume  was  in  Shimonoseki  at  the  time,  and 
can  bear  personal  witness  to  the  intense  grief 
into  which  this  act  plunged  the  Japanese  peo- 
ple. They  felt  that  their  honor  had  been  out- 
raged, and  this  for  the  second  time  in  five 
years ;  *  and  that  the  civilized  world  might 
now  repudiate  their  comity,  on  account  of  this 

*  The  other  occasion  was  in  1891,  when  the  visiting 
Czarevitch  was  assaulted  and  almost  slain. 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         261 

irresponsible  assassin.  The  Emperor  imme- 
diately volunteered  an  unconditional  armis- 
tice, so  that  the  event  really  hastened  the  end 
of  the  war.  On  the  17th  of  April,  1895,  a 
peace  treaty  was  concluded  at  Shimonoseki, 
which  included  the  following  terms:  China 
recognizes  the  independence  of  Korea ;  China 
cedes  to  Japan  the  Liaotung  peninsula,  the 
island  of  Formosa,  and  the  Pescadores 
group;  China  pays  an  indemnity  of  three 
hundred  million  yen;  ratifications  of  this 
treaty  shall  be  exchanged  within  three  weeks. 
In  the  negotiation  of  this  treaty,  China  had 
the  personal  counsel  of  the  distinguished 
American  diplomatist,  John  W.  Foster;  and 
there  is  no  sign  that  the  terms  were  regarded 
by  her  as  illiberal.  But  as  soon  as  the  treaty 
had  been  ratified,  there  came  a  most  startling 
interference.  Russia,  supported  by  Germany 
and  France,  suddenly  appeared  Russia's 
upon  the  scene  with  the  demand  Interference- 
that  the  Liaotung  peninsula  should  not  be 
ceded  to  Japan,  on  the  ground  that  "such 
permanent  possession  would  be  detrimental 
to  the  peace  of  the  Orient,  and  a  menace  to 
Korea  and  China."  Japan  was  placed  in  a 
most  humiliating  position;  it  would  have 
been  infinitely  kinder  had  the  powers  inter- 


262  YOUNG  JAPAN 

posed  before  the  ratification  of  the  treaty, 
since  its  terms  were  perfectly  well  known. 
As  it  was,  the  sanity  and  self-control  of  the 
Japanese  stood  this  severest  of  tests.  Real- 
izing the  futility  of  opposing  such  a  formid- 
able array  of  force,  the  Emperor  issued  a 
rescript  on  the  10th  of  May  in  which  he  ac- 
cepted the  disinterested  professions  of  the 
powers  at  their  face  value,  and  surrendered 
the  chief  prize  of  the  war  for  the  sake  -of ' '  an 
enduring  peace." 

Such  is  the  superficial  story  of  the  Chino- 
Japanese  war,  told  in  its  briefest  outline, 
japan's  Power  The  effect  of  the  victory,  in  spite 
of  its  humiliating  sequel,  was  to 
establish  Japan's  prestige  among. the  nations 
as  a  power  that  has  to  be  reckoned  with.  An 
American  resident  of  T5kyo  contributed  to 
the  Japan  Mail  verses  entitled  "The  Great 
Powers  to  Japan,"  wherein  they  are  repre- 
sented as  shouting : 

"  Salve  Japan !    We  seven,  the  sovereign  Powers, 
Greet  thee  compeer;  inscrol  thy  name  with  ours, — 
United  States,  Great  Britain,  Germany, 
France,  Russia,  Austro-Hungary, 
And  Italy.    Henceforth  the  world-estate 
We  share  with  thee — Japan  the  Great." 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS        263 

It  may  have  been  an  accident,  but  the  first 
victories  of  Japan  in  her  war  with  China  were 
immediately  followed  by  the  revision  Treaty 
of  the  treaties  for  which  she  had  Revislon- 
hitherto  striven  in  vain.  In  September,  1894, 
Great  Britain  led  the  way,  to  be  followed 
shortly  by  other  nations,  in  an  agreement 
that  after  the  lapse  of  five  years  Japan 
should  be  granted  both  tariff  and  judicial 
autonomy;  while  on  the  other  hand  foreign- 
ers should  be  allowed  to  travel  or  reside  in 
any  part  of  the  empire  without  the  need  of 
a  special  passport.  Thus  the  humiliation  to 
which  the  country  was  subjected  by  Eussia 
was  offset  to  a  certain  extent  by  the  signifi- 
cant friendship  of  England, — Russia's  tradi- 
tional foe. 

It  is  now  necessary  for  us  to  look  far 
beneath  the  surface  of  this  Chinese  war,  in 
order  to  understand  the  greater  Bewndthe 
war  which  is  its  sequel,  and  also  to  scenes. 
gain  a  hint,  in  passing,  as  to  the  meaning  of 
the  strange  Chinese  " Boxer"  uprising  in 
1900,  and  of  the  more  recent  Anglo-Japanese 
Alliance.  To  this  end,  we  must  imagine  our- 
selves in  northern  Manchuria  just  two  hun- 
dred years  ago,  watching  the  advancing  tides 
of  that  great  Slavonian  invasion  which  has 


264  YOUNG  JAPAN 

poured  steadily  over  the  continent  of  Asia 
until  at  last  it  beats  upon  the  ocean  for  an 
outlet,  only  to  find  itself  confronted  and  con- 
fined by  the  opposing  billows  of  the  little  Sea 
of  Japan.  Two  centuries  ago  Russia  had 
already  acquired  the  greater  part  of  Siberia 
from  the  Tatars ;  but  this  must  needs  prove 
Russia  and  only  a  barren  conquest  unless  she 
Manchuria.  GOU[^  fin(j  some  outlet  for  her  vast 
new  territory  in  unfrozen  southern  seas. 
Manchuria  lies  between  Siberia  and  this  cov- 
eted outlet,  the  two  territories  finding  a  nat- 
ural dividing  line  in  the  sinuous  Amur  River, 
which  describes  a  great  overturned  S  as  it 
runs  its  course  of  nigh  three  thousand  miles 
from  the  interior  to  the  Gulf  of  Saghalien. 
Had  we  taken  our  stand  in  northern  Man- 
churia two  hundred  years  ago,  we  should 
have  seen  the  thoughtful  Russians  already 
making  encroachments  towards  the  south, 
crossing  the  Amur  River,  and  erecting  two 
forts  south  of  it.  But  the  Chinese  were  sus- 
picious, and  the  great  arsenal  town  of  Kirin 
was  built  to  defend  northern  Manchuria, 
while  they  sent  courageous  troops  to  drive  the 
Russians  back  again  over  the  Amur  River. 
These  doughty  Celestial  soldiers  captured  the 
Russian  forts,  whose  garrisons  were  conveyed 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         265 

as  prisoners  to  Pekin,  where  they  still  form  a 
Russian  colony  of  greater  use  to  the  Czar 
than  a  hundred  garrisons  of  soldiers.  For 
they  represent  the  militant  spirit  of  Russia, 
and  they  live  in  the  Chinese  capital. 

In  the  year  1847,  Count  Nicholas  Muravief 
became  governor  of  eastern  Siberia,  under 
whose  bold  administration  Russia 

Muravief. 

made  great  strides  southward.  His 
most  important  step  was  to  take  advantage 
of  the  situation  wherein  China  found  herself 
ten  years  after  he  had  been  made  governor. 
Through  the  mediation  of  the  colony  in 
Peking,  China  was  caused  to  believe  that  she 
owed  to  Russia  her  deliverance  from  the 
Anglo-French  occupation;  and  to  present  a 
token  of  gratitude  in  the  shape  of  a  great  slice 
of  the  Manchurian  coast,  by  which  Russia 
gained  territory  larger  than  the  State  of 
Texas,  and  advanced  ten  degrees  to  the  south. 
At  the  base  of  this  great  Ussuri 

Vladivostok. 

region  a  vast  fortress  was  imme- 
diately erected,   which  received  the   appro- 
priate name  of  Vladivostok,  meaning  "dom- 
inator  of  the  East."    This  was  in  1861. 

But  there  were  important  geographical 
reasons  why  Vladivostok  could  not  dominate 
the  East.  A  glance  at  a  map  will  show  that 


266  YOUNG  JAPAN 

the  entire  coast-line  of  the  Ussuri  region, 
together  with  the  eastern  shore  of  Korea,  is 
completely  hemmed  in  by  Japan.  Beginning 
with  the  island  of  Saghalien,  a  great  sea-wall 
bends  around  this  central  coast  of  Asia,  which 
is  thus  shut  off  from  the  Pacific  and  confined 
by  the  waters  of  the  Sea  of  Japan.  When 
Japan  awakened  from  her  age-long  torpor, 
Eussia  seemed  on  the  point  of  realizing  the 
true  situation,  and  succeeded  (1875)  in  buying 
the  north  end  of  the  sea-wall — Saghalien — 
in  exchange  for  the  Kurile  Islands.  But  this 
by  no  means  relieved  the  Russian  difficulties. 
The  actual  approaches  to  Vladivostok  are 
the  two  straits  that  lie  at  the  northern  and 
southern  extremities  of  Japan ;  only  through 
these  doors  as  an  outlet  can  Vladivostok 
reach  the  Pacific.  Russia  had  attempted  to 
seize  command  of  the  southern  strait  imme- 
diately upon  the  creation  of  the  "domina- 
tor;"  but  England  had  blocked  her  designs. 
The  only  ideal  outlet  for  Russia  is  afforded 
by  the  coast  of  Korea. 

Muravief  perceived  that  the  colossal  plans 
The  Great  of  Russia  in  the  East  could  only  be 
Railway.  accomplished  by  closer  connections 
with  home.  He  therefore  conceived  the  idea 
of  a  great  continental  railroad,  which  should 


MODERN  SCHOOL-DAYS        267 

link  the  far-off  European  capital  with  its  am- 
bitious Asiatic  frontier.  The  two  ends  of  the 
railroad  were  first  completed,  and  Russia 
meanwhile  played  a  silent  hand  in  Eastern 
politics.  The  little  colony  at  Pekin  was  not 
forgotten.  The  bickerings  of  China  about 
Formosa  and  Korea  are  more  easily  under- 
stood when  we  keep  that  little  colony  in  mind. 
But  China  agreed  to  a  joint  protectorate  with 
Japan  over  Korea  in  1885,  and  the  bickerings 
seemed  about  to  cease.  In  the  very  next  year, 
however,  Great  Britain  unearthed  a  Russian 
plot  to  make  Korea  a  protectorate 

...  Russian  Plots. 

of  the  Czar, — a  situation  which 
continually  reminds  us  of  the  fable  about  the 
cat,  the  two  monkeys,  and  the  cheese.  Eng- 
land finally  exacted  a  promise  from  the  Rus- 
sian government  that  it  should  never  attempt 
the  absorption  of  Korea. 

But  the  Czar  urged  the  hastening  of  the 
railroad,  and  the  sinuous  Amur  River  was  in 
the  way.  It  was  still  the  boundary  line  be- 
tween Russia  and  Manchuria,  so  that  Russia, 
if  confined  to  her  own  territory,  would  have 
to  bend  all  around  the  northern  shore  of  the 
enormous  overturned  S  before  she  could  run 
her  rails  down  through  the  Ussuri  region  to 
Vladivostok.  It  would  be  infinitely  easier  to 


268  YOUNG  JAPAN 

construct  the  road  by  a  bee-line  driven 
through  Manchuria !  So  Eussia,  with  her  ac- 
customed stupendous  audacity,  came  to  China 
in  1893  with  a  proposal  "to  construct  an  ex- 
tension of  the  Trans-Siberian  Railway,  to  be 
known  as  the  Chinese  Eastern  Railway,  by 
the  short  cut  across  Manchuria." 

But  Marquis  Ito  was  watching  from  afar. 

He  foresaw,  as  any  one  may  clearly  see  now, 

that  to  build  a  railway  through 

Ito's  Vigilance.  . 

Manchuria  would  be  to  control 
that  immense  territory,  since  this  is  the  era  of 
conquests  by  railroads ;  that  the  next  step  of 
the  Russian  advance  would  be  planted  in 
Korea;  and  that  "Korea  in  Russian  hands 
would  be  a  dagger  pointed  at  the  heart  of 
Japan."  The  short-sighted  Japanese  Diet  at 
first  opposed  his  warlike  spirit,  but  Russia 
overplayed  her  game  in  China,  so  that  Japan 
was  apparently  driven  into  war  against  her 
will,  as  we  have  seen. 

While  this  war  was  at  its  height,  the  great 
Czar  Alexander  III.  passed  away.  For  forty 
The  Young  years  fortune  had  favored  Russia 
Czar-  with  mighty  emperors;  but  abso- 

lute despotism  is  an  awful  power  to  intrust  to 
the  chances  of  heredity.  Russia  had  been 
fortunate  for  forty  years,  and  her  wonderful 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS        269 

growth  during  that  period  is  chiefly  due  to 
the  remarkable  strength  of  her  rulers;  but 
what  of  this  stripling  of  twenty-six,  reputed 
to  be  good-natured  but  feeble,  as  he  suddenly 
ascends  to  dizzy  heights  of  power?  Among 
other  things,  what  of  his  relation  to  Japan? 
He  had  been  severely  wounded  while  travel- 
ling through  the  country  in  1891, — did  he 
mistake  the  courteous  humiliation  of  his 
hosts  for  weakness,  and  their  noble  shame 
for  an  ignoble  cowardice?  Would  he  de- 
spise and  underrate  Japan,  as  the  Chinese 
had  done  to  their  cost?  Nine  days  after  the 
death  of  Alexander  III.,  the  Weekly  Mail,  a 
powerful  British  journal  published  in  Japan, 
uttered  words  of  a  deep  significance  when 
read  in  the  light  of  the  present:  "The  un- 
timely death  of  such  a  ruler  when  twenty  or 
thirty  years  of  his  beneficent  sovereignty 
might  reasonably  have  been  expected,  is  a 
universal  calamity.  .  .  .  The  succession  of 
a  youth  of  twenty-six  to  the  Russian  Throne 
is  an  event  fraught  with  the  gravest  con- 
tingencies." 

Meanwhile,  the  war  hastened  to  its  end. 
We  have  seen  that  the  wisdom  of  Marquis  Ito 
caused  him  to  specify  the  cession  of  the  Liao- 
tung  peninsula  to  Japan  as  the  most  impor- 


270  YOUNG  JAPAN 

tant  item  in  the  treaty  of  peace.  This  would 
not  necessarily  have  prevented  the  building 
of  the  Chinese  Eastern  railroad,  but  it  would 
have  made  Japan  able  to  protect  her  Korean 
interests,  for  Port  Arthur,  at  the  tip  of  the 
peninsula,  is  the  key  to  the  Korean  situation. 
Russia,  however,  intervened,  having  by  some 
means  persuaded  France  and  Germany  to 
unite  with  her  in  a  protest  against  a  situation 
"which  would  endanger  the  peace  of  the 
Orient,  besides  threatening  the  integrity  of 
Korea  and  China" — as  they  declared.  But 
Russian  no  sooner  had  Japan  been  forced 

inconsistency.  to  acqiliesce,  than  Russia  ob- 
tained from  the  Chinese  government  permis- 
sion to  build  her  short-line  railway  through 
Manchuria,  as  a  reward  for  the  services  she 
had  rendered  in  enabling  China  to  keep  the 
Liaotung  peninsula. 

Three  years  later  (1898),  a  missionary 
tragedy  was  turned  into  an  international 
farce.  Two  German  missionaries  having 
been  murdered  by  a  Chinese  mob,  the  German 
government  demanded  as  indemnity  a  por- 
strange  tion  of  the  province  of  Shantung, 
stratagems.  Russia  immediately  followed  with 
the  plea  that  this  cession  to  Germany  "dis- 
turbed the  balance  of  power,"  and  that  mat- 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         271 

ters  might  only  be  equalized  if  she  should  be 
granted  a  lease  of  the  very  peninsula  from 
which  she  had  driven  Japan  three  years 
before !  China,  of  course,  weakly  consented, 
and  Russia  then  proceeded  to  build  a  branch 
of  her  railroad  from  Harbin  straight  down  to 
Port  Arthur,  where  she  planted  powerful 
guns  upon  the  heights,  after  filling  the  town 
with  her  soldiers,  and  after  having  closed 
the  harbor  to  all  vessels  except  her  own. 
Where  now  were  Russia's  protestations  of 
concern  for  "the  enduring  peace  of  the 
Orient,  and  the  integrity  of  Korea  and 
China"? 

A  greater  tragedy  brought  the  farce  to  its 
climax  in  1900.  That  was  the  year  of  the 
terrible  Boxer  War.  Russia  took 
advantage  of  that  massacre  to  gar- 
rison all  Manchuria  with  her  troops,  as  a 
"temporary"  measure  of  protection.  She 
had  invested  large  interests  in  Manchuria, 
and  must  needs  look  after  them.  But  when 
the  time  came  for  her  to  withdraw  her  troops, 
she  insolently  increased  them.  Manchuria 
became  an  enormous  Russian  garrison,  and 
advances  were  stealthily  made  on  Korea, 
Meanwhile,  Japan  had  been  preparing  for  the 
impending  crisis.  She  saw  that  she  must  face 


272  YOUNG  JAPAN 

an  issue  of  life  and  death;  for,  if  Korea 
should  once  fall  into  the  hands  of  Eussia, 
"  there  would  thus  be  planted  almost  within 
cannon-range  of  her  shores  a  power  of  enor- 
mous strength  and  insatiable  ambition," 
which  would  most  certainly  reach  out  just  a 
little  farther  and  seize  the  rich  prize  of 
Japan,  filled  as  it  is  with  splen- 

Japan's  Danger.          . 

did  harbors  and  forming  a  mag- 
nificent outpost  for  the  coast  of  the  Orient. 
Japan  had  been  preparing  for  the  struggle, 
but  her  elder  statesmen  hoped  that  it  might 
not  come.  She  had  doubled  her  army  and 
trebled  her  navy,  but  her  leaders  strove  to 
hold  her  strength  in  leash.  They  realized  the 
enormous  disparity  of  forces,  and  the  terrible 
possibilities  which  a  struggle  might  involve. 
In  July,  1903,  they  approached  Eussia  with 
the  respectful  request  for  a  treaty.  Negotia- 
tions were  begun  upon  a  perfectly  reasonable 
basis, — Japan  offering  to  acknowledge  the 

interests  of  Eussia  in  Manchuria, 

The  War  Opens.      ......  ,,      ,    ^  ,        ,    «, 

but  insisting  that  Korea  be  left 
free.  Eussia  delayed  and  trifled  to  an  extent 
that  is  almost  incredible.  The  fact  is,  she 
despised  Japan.  As  her  greatest  leaders  now 
confess,  she  never  dreamed  that  Japan  would 
fight.  "Her  people  are  but  pygmies,  a  little 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS        273 

monkey  race  of  islanders."  To  overawe 
these  "monkey-faced  men,"  fresh  armies 
were  sent  to  Manchuria,  and  also  a  great 
naval  fleet.  Finally,  on  the  8th  of  February, 
1904,  having  exhausted  the  resources  of 
peace,  the  little  agile  country  struck  its  first 
blow,  and  electrified  the  world. 

The  English  Alliance?  It  was  perfected  a 
year  or  two  before,  not  only  because  England 
is  wise,  but  also  because  England  importance 
believes  in  fair  play.  Its  chief  de-  °ftheWftr- 
clared  object  is  Chinese  and  Korean  integ- 
rity ;  but  Great  Britain  also  clearly  perceives 
that  in  this  tremendous  drama  which  is  being 
played  in  the  world-theatre  to-day,  far  larger 
interests  are  concerned  than 'the  political  in- 
terests of  two  isolated  nations.  It  is  a  war 
of  principles,  and  universal  history  will  be 
affected  by  its  issues.  The  subtle  East  and 
the  open-handed  West  are  fighting  their 
struggle  for  mastery, — Russia  coming  out 
of  the  East,  Tatar  to  the  very  bone,  while 
Japan  is  the  sole  hope  of  the  West  in  Asia. 
As  for  Christianity,  if  Russia  be  Christian, 
then  the  less  we  have  of  that  religion  the 
better.  Two  tides  are  crashing  thunder- 
ously together  off  the  coasts  of  Japan  to- 
day. The  one  has  rolled  across  the  steppes 

18 


274  YOUNG  JAPAN 

of  Asia  dark  with  barbarism,  the  other 
meets  it  from  the  Pacific,  bright  with  light. 
It  is  despotism  against  liberty,  the  past 
against  the  future,  night  against  day,  wrong 
against  right.  And  an  eloquent  writer,  fore- 
seeing this  war,  has  said:  "I  look  to  see 
the  Japanese  Revolution  succeed  against  the 
Russian  Tradition ;  that  is  to  say,  I  look  for 
justice  in  history ;  I  expect  to  find  that  truth 
is  its  own  ultimate  strength  and  vindication. 
I  anticipate  that  those  standards  which  civili- 
zation has  agreed  to  regard  as  the  higher 
shall  also  be  proven  the  stronger.  And  this 
even  if — as  is  possible — the  tonnage  and  the 
battalions  of  the  Tradition  should  for  a  time 
succeed,  as  have  its  lies  and  its  brigand- 
age. And  remember  that  all  that  the  Revo- 
lution asks  of  the  Tradition  is  toleration  and 
respect  for  its  clear  rights. ' ' 

Before  passing  to  the  concluding  chapter 
of  our  story  of  " Young  Japan"  it  may  be 
The  Japanese  well  to  glance  at  the  organization  of 
Army-  that  remarkable  army  and  navy  to 

whose  brilliant  efficiency  it  is  chiefly  due  that 
a  new  sun  has  risen  above  the  horizon  of  his- 
tory— for  Japan,  the  " Sunrise  Land,"  has 
fulfilled  the  prophecy  of  her  name.  It  was 
in  that  wonderful  year  of  changes,  A.D.  1872, 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS        275 

that  the  army  and  navy  of  the  new  Japan 
were  organized.  Being  thoroughly  convinced 
that  Western  nations  could  teach  them  some- 
what in  the  matter  of  military  effectiveness, 
the  new  Sat-Cho  government  surrounding 
the  Emperor  and  holding  the  reins  of  rule 
concluded  from  the  investigations  of  their 
world-touring  embassy  that  France  could  fur- 
nish the  best  drill-masters.  French  military 
advisers  were  therefore  employed  for  the 
army,  but  these  were  afterwards  supplanted 
by  Germans.  An  effective  modern  army  re- 
sulted in  a  surprisingly  short  time,  simply 
because  the  soldiers  of  old  Japan  were  sur- 
passingly brave  and  loyal  through  immemo- 
rial drill,  with  a  native  alertness  and  thor- 
oughness that  gave  them  immediate  grasp 
of  new  forms,  and  a  self-control  that  adds 
the  summit-touch  to  soldiery.*  Conscription 
laws  of  the  most  radical  character  supply 
fresh  material  from  the  flower  of  the  youth 
of  the  land  every  year,  at  the  rate  of  forty 
thousand  or  more.  In  the  rigid  weeding-out 
processes — for  the  most  stringent  mental  and 
physical  tests  are  in  practice — those  who  are 
rejected  as  fighting-men  are  sent  with  the 

*  See  page  148. 


276  YOUNG  JAPAN 

army  as  transporters.  The  father  of  the 
army  is  the  Marquis  Yamagata,  who  has  now 
(at  the  age  of  sixty-six)  attained  to  the  rank 
of  field-marshal.  In  fifteen  years  it  has 
grown  from  an  enlistment  of  228,848  men  to 
a  strength  of  508,268,  all  told — on  a  peace 
footing.*  There  are  six  chief  military  sta- 
tions, evenly  distributed  throughout  the 
empire. 

Baron  Yamamoto,  the  present  minister  of 
the  navy,  is  to  this  branch  of  the  service  what 
The  Japanese  Yamagata  has  been  to  the  army.  In 
Navy.  1902,  against  the  most  vigorous  op- 

position, he  induced  parliament  to  undertake 
the  construction  of  six  first-class  battleships 
within  the  next  ten  years,  so  that  Japan  has 
not  yet  approached  the  limit  of  her  naval  ex- 
pansion. It  was  Great  Britain  that  super- 
vised the  beginnings,  sending  out  a  small 
school  of  instructors  so  long  ago  as  1867, 
under  the  Shogunate,  and  a  larger  one  in 
1873,  after  the  Restoration.  Dockyard  work, 
however,  was  committed  to  the  direction  of 
the  French.  The  principal  dockyards  are  at 
Yokosuka,  in  the  Gulf  of  Tokyo;  but  there 

*  The  figures  are  for  the  years  1888  and  1903,  re- 
spectively. 


MODERN    SCHOOL-DAYS         277 

are  others  at  Kure,  in  the  Inland  Sea ;  Sasebo, 
near  Nagasaki;  Maizuru,  on  the  west  coast; 
and  Mororan,  in  the  island  of  Yezo.  There 
are  four  ship-building  concerns  where  steel- 
frame  steamers  can  be  constructed;  and 
some  idea  of  the  rapidity  with  which  Japan 
is  mastering  this  difficult  industry  can  be 
gained  from  the  fact  that  out  of  the  nine  and 
a  half  million  tonnage  of  steam-vessels  pass- 
ing annually  through  her  ports,  fully  three 
million  are  of  native  construction.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  war  with  Russia  the  naval 
fleet  included  six  first-class  battleships,  eight 
armored  cruisers,  and  fourteen  protected 
cruisers.  At  the  close  of  the  first  year's 
fighting  three  of  these  vessels  had  been  lost, 
while  the  Russian  eastern  fleet,  of  equal  fight- 
ing strength  in  the  beginning,  had  been  prac- 
tically swept  from  the  seas. 

The  principal  naval  academy  is  at  Etajima, 
an  island  of  the  beautiful  Inland  Sea.  Ap- 
plicants must  be  at  least  sixteen  years  of  age, 
and  are  subjected  to  rigid  examination.  The 
training  is  strict  in  the  extreme,  and  jiu-jutsu 
is  the  favorite  physical  exercise.  The  aver- 
age age  of  the  navy  is  the  lowest  in  the  world, 
as  is  also  the  average  height:  no  one  over 
twenty  years  of  age  is  accepted  for  enlist- 


278  YOUNG  JAPAN 

ment,  and  the  average  stature  is  only  five  feet 
and  four  inches. 

It  is  a  theory  that  ''in  Japan  every  subject 
has  a  chance  for  a  commission  in  the  imperial 
The  sat-cho  navy, ' '  but  the  theory  is  hardly  borne 
Monopoly.  out  by  foe  facts.  And  this  applies 
also  to  the  army.  The  Sat-Cho  clans  have  a 
virtual  monopoly  here,  as  well  as  in  civil  af- 
fairs. Satsuma  has  not  only  furnished  such 
army  leaders  as  Nogi,  Kuroki,  and  Oyama,  but 
practically  the  whole  of  the  navy,  from  Togo 
and  Yamamoto  downward.  In  the  Japanese 
mind  the  Satsuma  men  are  credited  chiefly 
with  courage,  the  Choshu  men  with  sagacity 
— therefore  the  former  are  soldiers  and  sail- 
ors, men  of  dash  and  daring,  while  the  latter 
are  diplomatists  and  chiefs  of  administration. 
But  the  fact  is,  these  two  southern  clans  sim- 
ply gained  control  of  the  government  in  1868, 
and  have  never  relinquished  it  since — clan- 
government  having  supplanted  the  Shogun- 
ate. 

The  hero  of  Port  Arthur,  Nogi  Kiten,  is 
the  Japanese  ideal  of  a  soldier.  His  enthu- 
Nogi,  a  Typical  siastic  admirers  even  call  him  the 
soldier.  1 1  incarnation  of  the  imperial  war- 

god."  He  has  given  utterance  to  his  own 
conception  of  the  warrior-life  in  the  following 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         279 

striking  language:  ''When  a  man  becomes 
a  soldier  he  must  be  perfectly  willing  to  lead 
henceforth  a  life  that  is  somewhat  different 
from  the  life  of  an  ordinary  man.  It  is  im- 
possible for  him  thereafter  to  enjoy  liberty 
and  wealth  in  the  same  manner  as  his  fellows. 
What  I  mean  is  this:  that  the  soldier  who 
would  perform  his  duties  with  credit  on  a 
battle-field  must,  of  necessity,  have  trained 
himself  to  perform  all  that  is  expected  of 
him  in  the  days  of  peace.  There  ought  not 
to  be  any  neglect  or  any  defects  in  his 
daily  life.  The  man  who  would  rightfully 
aspire  to  the  honor  of  fighting  under  the 
sun-flag  must  first  have  learned  to  be  a  man 
through  the  conquest  of  himself  in  times  of 
peace." 

That  Nogi  has  practised  what  he  preaches 
is  proved  by  his  memorable  words  when  the 
news  was  brought  to  him  that  his  eldest  son 
— the  pride  and  hope  of  every  Japanese 
household — had  been  killed  in  the  battle  of 
Nanshan.  '  *  I  am  glad  he  died  so  splendidly, ' ' 
the  father  said.  "It  was  the  greatest  honor 
he  could  have.  As  for  the  funeral  rites  in 
his  memory,  they  might  as  well  be  postponed 
for  a  while.  A  little  later  on  they  may  be 
performed  in  connection  with  those  to  the 


280  YOUNG  JAPAN 

memory  of  my  second  son,  Hoten,  and  of 
myself."  His  second  son  fell  during  the 
Typical  last  days  of  the  siege  around  Port 

Instances  of    Arthur. 

This  wondrous  spirit  of  loyalty, 
inheritance  from  feudal  days,  is  not  confined 
to  the  officers  of  the  army,  but  is  shared  by 
the  humblest  of  the  people.  The  Russian  war 
has  afforded  numberless  examples.  There 
was  the  aged  mother,  for  example,  who 
learned  that  her  soldier-son  was  detained  at 
home  on  her  account.  Slaying  herself  in 
patriotic  sacrifice,  she  withdrew  the  bloody 
dagger  in  time  to  hand  it  to  her  son  with  the 
Spartan  injunction  that  he  should  plunge  it 
into  the  hearts  of  the  enemy.  And  a  story 
comes  of  a  humble  jinrikisha-man,  who, 
because  he  could  find  no  care-taker  for  his 
motherless  children,  slew  them  and  buried 
them  in  the  family  temple  grounds,  that  he 
might  go  off  to  the  war.  The  blanket  wherein 
he  wrapped  their  little  dead  bodies  as  he  took 
them  to  their  burial  was  afterwards  cut  into 
shreds  by  the  equally  patriotic  priest  and 
distributed  as  priceless  relics  to  the  pil- 
grims who  came  to  do  honor  at  the  sacrificial 
grave.  What  wonder  that  Japan  wins  vic- 
tories ? 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS        281 

And  loyalty  does  more  than  win  battles. 
It  is  loyalty  in  connection  with  an  enlight- 
ened clan-government  that  ac-  Loyalty  in  Lieu 
counts  for  the  remarkable  cour-  of  Morals, 

tesy  of  the  army.  Much  as  we  should  like  to 
believe  it,  doubtless  we  should  err  in  account- 
ing for  the  good  behavior  of  the  Japanese 
army  altogether'  on  the  grounds  of  good- 
nature, or  deep-set  convictions  of  mercy. 
The  inherent  cruelty  of  the  Japanese  soldier 
is  far  too  thoroughly  established,  and  the 
barbarous  conduct  of  these  same  troops  on 
the  occasion  of  the  former  fall  of  Port  Ar- 
thur, only  ten  years  ago,  is  of  much  too  recent 
occurrence  to  allow  of  such  an  inner  trans- 
figuration of  character  as  would  explain  on 
purely  moral  principles  their  humane  be- 
havior towards  the  Russians.  The  true  ex- 
planation, however,  is  hardly  less  wonderful. 
The  clan-government  which  radiates  from  the 
imperial  palace  in  Tokyo  into  every  regiment 
of  the  army  and  every  ship  of  the  navy  is  one 
of  the  most  astute  bodies  of  men  on  earth. 
They  are  profoundly  watchful  of  interna- 
tional sentiment  in  their  desire  for  inter- 
national regard,  and  they  are  also  fully  famil- 
iar with  the  reverential  loyalty  of  the  troops 
to  their  Emperor,  which  they  have  used  every 


282  YOUNG  JAPAN 

means  to  enhance.  Having  incurred  the  op- 
probrium of  the  civilized  world  on  account 
of  the  Port  Arthur  massacre,  they  have  fore- 
stalled the  repetition  of  such  occurrences. 
How?  By  an  extremely  simple  expedient,  in 
view  of  Japanese  loyalty.  Messages  are  sent 
in  the  name  of  the  Emperor,  commanding 
merciful  treatment,  and  the  regard  of  the 
troops  for  their  sun-god  is  such  as  to  serve 
in  the  place  of  a  conscience,  even  amid  the 
carnage  of  battle,  or  in  spite  of  temptations 
to  pillage.  It  will  be  a  serious  tune  of  tran- 
sition when  their  worship  of  the  Emperor  is 
destroyed. 

In  accounting  for  the  martial  strength  of 
young  Japan  we  must  not  overlook  the  corn- 
Financial  mercial  astuteness  that  has  made 

Development.   pOSSible      the      "sinCWS      of      War." 

Poor  as  the  Island  Empire  is,  her  financiers 
have  made  such  use  of  their  resources  as  to 
produce  almost  incredible  development  in  an 
amazingly  short  space  of  time.  The  progress 
of  this  financial  development  is  made  clear 
in  the  following  tables :  * 


*  For  these  figures  we  are  chiefly  indebted  to  a  little 
book  published  in  Tokyo  in  1904  by  Hoshino  Kota, 
entitled  "  The  Mission  of  Japan." 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS        283 

1893.  1903. 

Yen.  Yen. 

Revenue 44,521,000  146,995,500 

Current  money 119,229,000  165,576,000 

Capital  of  business  firms  . .  151,147,000  600,540,000 

Capital  of  banks 55,817,000  263,483,500 

Exports   45,074,500  199,751,000 

Imports    44,677,500  158,067,500 

Import  taxes 2,562,500  8,035,500 

National  debt 141,759,500  280,582,000 

During  the  same  period  the  tonnage  value 
of  Japanese  steamships  grew  from  110,000 
to  610,000  tons;  sailing-vessels,  from  45,000 
to  334,000  tons;  and  the  naval  fleet,  from 
61,000  to  257,000  tons.  The  mileage  of  rail- 
ways increased  from  slightly  more  than  2000 
to  5015;  and  the  mileage  of  electric  wires 
from  the  neighborhood  of  30,000  to  more  than 
double  that  number. 

Facts  like  these  made  young  Japan  not 
only  willing,  but  able,  to  respond  to  the  call 
for  a  war-loan  with  five  times  the  amount 
that  was  needed. 


MODERN  SCHOOL-DAYS 

PART  SECOND 

IF  our  study  of  modern  Japanese  history 
has  shown  us  anything  at  all,  it  has  proved 
that  Book  III.  of  this  volume -is  well  named. 
The  fifty  years  that  have  passed  since  Com- 
modore Perry  opened  the  gates  of  Japan 
have  been  for  her  the  busiest  "school-days" 
that  any  nation  has  ever  experienced.  And 
the  people  are  not  yet  satisfied.  Count 
japan  and  Okuma,  who  ranks  next  to  Ito  as 
Education.  tke  greatest  living  statesman  of 
Japan,  is  recently  reported  as  saying: 
"What  we  need  mostly,  greatly,  is  education. 
Only  by  education  can  our  people  acquire  just 
ideas  of  their  rights  and  responsibilities 
under  the  constitution.  Thirty  years  ago  we 
scarcely  knew  what  education  was.  Our  edu- 
cational system,  although  it  is  not  yet  equal 
to  that  of  the  United  States,  Germany,  or 
France,  is  yet  far  superior  to  that  of  Italy  or 
Spain,  or  even  Australia.  Its  results  are 
manifest  in  our  army.  Our  success  against 
China  was  due,  of  course,  to  the  personal 

284 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         285 

courage  of  our  soldiers,  but  it  was  also,  in 
part,  due  to  the  development  of  our  educa- 
tional system.  If  they  had  been  as  lacking 
in  education  as  the  Chinese  mass,  our  troops 
would  not  have  been  half  so  successful  as  they 
were.  When  conscription  was  first  adopted 
[1872],  most  of  our  soldiers  were  illiterate; 
now  many  of  the  annual  draft  of  conscripts 
are  well  educated,  and  almost  all  of  them  can 
read  and  write.  And  in  the  thirty  years  to 
come  we  hope  to  accomplish  much  more  than 
we  have  done  in  the  thirty  years  past,  much 
as  that  has  been/' 

What  Count  Okuma  has  said  of  the  war 
with  China  is  also  true  of  the  more  recent 
struggle  with  Eussia.  General  An  Educational 
Francis  V.  Greene  is  authority  comparison, 
for  the  statement  that  among  the  conscripts 
annually  drafted  by  the  Russian  army,  only, 
about  three  out  of  a  hundred  can  read  and 
write.  '  *  The  latest  statistics  show  that  in  the 
Russian  population  of  a  hundred  and  forty 
million  only  1,750,000  boys  and  550,000  girls 
were  at  school,  or  in  all  one  and  a  half  per 
cent."  On  the  other  hand,  out  of  all  the 
Japanese  children  of  school  age,  91.75  per 
cent,  attend  schools.  In  1903,  out  of  a  total 
population  of  46,880,030,  there  were  4,300,- 


286  YOUNG  JAPAN 

000  pupils  in  elementary  schools,  eighty 
thousand  in  the  "middle"  schools,  six  thou- 
sand in  the  "higher"  schools,  and  about 
four  thousand  in  the  various  "colleges" 
at  the  two  universities.  These  figures  take 
account  of  the  government  schools  alone, 
whereas  there  are  numerous  private  schools 
and  colleges.*  It  may  easily  be  seen  that 
nearly  twelve  per  cent,  of  the  entire  Jap- 
anese population  are  attending  school,  as 
against  one  and  a  half  per  cent,  in  Eussia. 
Does  not  this  fact  suggest  at  least  a  partial 
solution  of  the  wonderful  successes  of  the 
Japanese  against  the  Russians,  in  spite  of 
the  enormous  disparity  in  power?  "Knowl- 
edge is  power." 

The  Japanese  "department  of  education" 
was  organized  by  the  imperial  government  in 

*  The  statistics  for  all  of  the  schools  of  Japan,  private 
as  well  as  governmental,  are  as  follows:  27,154  ele- 
mentary schools,  19  blind  and  dumb  schools,  57  normal 
schools,  33  higher  normal  schools,  5  training  schools  for 
teachers,  258  middle  schools,  80  higher  schools  for  girls, 
8  higher  schools  or  colleges,  2  imperial  universities,  58 
professional  colleges,  853  industrial  colleges,  3  training 
schools  for  industrial  teachers,  1657  miscellaneous  in- 
stitutions. Total,  30,187  schools,  with  5,469,410  pupils 
in  attendance. 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         287 

1871.  In  that  next  great  year  of  changes, 
the  Emperor  uttered  his  memorable  dec- 
laration :  "  It  is  intended  henceforth  Educational 
that  education  shall  be  so  diffused  Ambition. 
that  there  may  not  be  a  village  with  an  igno- 
rant family,  or  a  family  with  an  ignorant 
member. ' '  Twenty  years  later,  this  wish  had 
been  so  far  fulfilled  as  to  show  an  increase  of 
more  than  three  million  per  cent,  in  the  num- 
ber of  Japanese  that  were  acquiring  an  edu- 
cation. To-day,  there  is  doubtless  a  slighter 
proportion  of  illiteracy  in  Tokyo  than  in  cul- 
tured Boston.*  Japan  undertook  a  task  of 
immeasurable  difficulty  when  the  Emperor 
issued  his  notable  declaration  in  1872. 
"Through  languages  which  she  has  not  mas- 
tered she  has  struggled  with  ideas  which  she 
has  not  made  her  own. ' '  Despite  the  poverty, 
ignorance,  and  low  ideals  of  the  masses,  who 
fail  to  grasp  the  significance  of  knowledge, 
and  notwithstanding  the  annual  shortage  of 
thousands  in  the  teaching  force,  Japan  has 
persisted  in  her  ambition  to  cover  the  whole 
realm  of  human  investigation  and  book- 
learning,  until  "there  shall  not  be  a  village 
with  an  ignorant  family,  or  a  family  with  an 

*  Mr.  Henry  Norman,  in  "  The  Real  Japan." 


288  YOUNG  JAPAN 

ignorant  member."  This  vast  educational 
undertaking  is  only  thirty-three  years  old. 
"That  Japan  has  not  miserably  failed,  but 
has  succeeded  in  producing  in  thirty  years  a 
result  which  Russia,  for  example,  still  waits 
to  attempt,  marks  her  as  worthy  of  a  great 
future, ' ' — so  writes  Mr.  E.  E.  Lewis  in  *  *  The 
Educational  Conquest  of  the  Far  East."* 
' '  The  young  Japanese  people,  an-hungered  of 
learning,  have  literally  fed  upon  the  erudition 
of  the  West  until  it  has  begun  to  grow  into 
their  bone  and  sinew." 

The  chief  educator  of  modern  Japan  was 
without  doubt  the  great  Fukuzawa.  Becoming 
japan's  Greatest  early  convinced  of  the  superiority 
Educator.  0£  western  learning  and  civiliza- 
tion, he  wrote  numerous  books  that  had 
an  immense  circulation  and  an  enormous 
influence  in  committing  Japan  to  West- 
ern ideals.  He  afterwards  founded  an 

*  Dr.  Albert  Shaw  carries  the  comparison  further : 
"  Almost  two  hundred  years  ago,  Peter  the  Great  ordered 
his  subjects  to  put  on  Western  civilization.  Mutsuhito 
commanded  his  subjects  to  do  the  same  one  hundred  and 
fifty  years  later.  But,  although  Russia  has  had  a  cen- 
tury and  a  half  the  start,  Western  civilization  is  still  to 
her  an  outer  garment,  while  the  Japanese  have  made  it 
a  part  of  their  national  life." 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         289 

extensive  private  college,  with  a  large  faculty 
and  a  thousand  students.  Professor  Cham- 
berlain says  that  "this  eminent  private 
schoolmaster,  who  might  be  minister  of 
education,  but  who  has  consistently  re- 
fused all  office,  is  the  intellectual  father  of 
half  the  young  men  who  now  fill  the  middle 
and  lower  posts  in  the  government  of 
Japan."  This  is  the  more  significant  when 
we  remember  that  from  the  beginning  he 
steadfastly  combated  the  ancient  ideals  of 
Japan,  such  as  suicide,  often  at  the  peril  of 
his  life.  While  not  a  professing  Christian,  we 
are  informed  that  "at  the  opening  of  the 
twentieth  century,  being  even  more  pro- 
Christian,  he  was  vigorously  opposed  by  re- 
actionaries as  the  preacher  of  'Occidental,' 
that  is,  Christian  morals.  Hosts  of  his  friends 
on  either  side  of  the  Pacific  rejoiced  in  the 
recognition  of  his  work  for  the  good  of  his 
countrymen  in  the  gift  from  the  Emperor 
in  connection  with  the  crown  prince's  wed- 
ding, in  May,  1900,  of  fifty  thousand  yen,  in 
lieu  of  a  patent  of  nobility,  which  would  have 
been  gladly  conferred,  only  that  Fukuzawa 
preferred  to  remain  a  commoner."  He  died 
two  years  later.  In  addition  to  his  work  as 
an  author,  he  was  a  distinguished  and  influ- 

19 


290  YOUNG  JAPAN 

ential  journalist.  His  best  known  work  is 
the  "  Promotion  of  Learning,"  in  seventeen 
volumes,  which  has  had  a  Japanese  sale  of 
two  hundred  thousand  complete  sets. 

It  may  now  be  worth  while  to  present  a 
brief  view  of  the  present  system  of  govern- 
The  mental  education,  beginning  with 

Educational  the  university,  which  is  the  hub  of 
the  educational  wheel.  A  second 
university  has  been  recently  established  at 
Kyoto,  but,  as  it  is  still  in  its  primary  stages, 
we  need  consider  only  the  great  university  at 
TSkyo.  We  have  already  seen  that  Verbeck 
became  its  first  director  in  the  year  1869, 
although  it  was  not  formally  organized  until 
several  years  later.  At  present  it  consists  of 
a  university  hall,  six  colleges,  two  hospitals, 
The  astronomical  and  seismological  ob- 

university.  servatories,  a  botanical  garden,  a 
marine  biological  station,  several  museums 
and  laboratories,  and  a  library  of  330,000 
volumes,  of  which  almost  one-half  are  in  Eng- 
lish and  other  foreign  tongues.  The  educa- 
tional tendencies  of  Japan  may  be  measured 
by  the  fact  that  when  the  Emperor  decreed 
a  hundred  and  twenty-three  professorships 
for  the  university  in  1893,  he  specified  that 
they  should  be  in  the  following  proportion: 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         291 

twenty-three  in  medicine,  twenty-two  in  law, 
twenty-one  in  engineering,  twenty  in  litera- 
ture and  in  agriculture,  with  seventeen  in 
science.  The  catalogue  for  the  session  of 
1901-1902  shows  that  there  were  3213 
students  in  attendance,  and  that  thirty-one 
assistant  professors  were  studying  abroad. 
The  subjects  pursued  by  the  absent  instruc- 
tors embraced  agriculture,  architecture, 
chemistry,  surgery,  dentistry,  pharmacy, 
clinical  bacteriology,  veterinary  medicine  and 
hygiene,  comparative  legal  institutions,  the 
science  of  religion,  diplomatic  history,  forest 
utilization,  iron  metallurgy,  and  statistics. 
The  Japanese  exhibit  at  the  St.  Louis  Fair 
contained  two  interesting  scientific  inven- 
tions by  professors  in  this  university.  The 
first  was  an  apparatus  for  measuring  the 
variation  in  length  of  a  magnetized  body  by 
means  of  magnetization — so  that  measure- 
ments may  be  had,  under  conditions  obtained 
by  optical  arrangement,  having  an  accuracy 
of  five-millionths  of  a  centimetre.  The  other 
invention  is  called  a  tromometer,  an  im- 
provement upon  the  seismometer  for  the 
measurements  of  earthquakes.  Since  the 
invention  of  this  instrument,  it  has  become 
possible  to  predict  Japanese  earthquakes 


292  YOUNG  JAPAN 

twenty-four  hours  in  advance  of  their 
coming ! 

It  will  be  noted  that  especial  attention  is 
given  to  the  study  of  medicine,  with  its  col- 
lateral  branches.  Indeed,  the  ap- 
propriation  for  the  College  of 
Medicine  is  three  times  greater  than  for  any 
of  the  other  colleges.  This  is  in  harmony 
with  the  fact  that  the  Japanese  have  a  singu- 
lar genius  for  medicine  and  surgery.  They 
pay  far  more  critical  attention  to  medical 
training  than  we  do  here  in  America.  At  a 
time  when  no  medical  school  in  this  country 
demanded  more  than  three  years  for  gradua- 
tion, the  Japanese  required,  after  the  conclu- 
sion of  a  four  years'  course  (of  ten  months 
each),  an  examination  that  covered  twenty- 
four  days,  wherein  each  candidate  was  com- 
pelled to  diagnose  and  treat  from  day  to  day 
several  cases  in  the  university  hospitals. 
After  an  experience  of  five  years  with  physi- 
cians in  various  parts  of  the  empire,  I  have 
no  hesitation  in  saying  that  the  modern  Jap- 
anese practitioner  is  even  more  capable  than 
our  own,  and  that  this  superiority  holds  good 
to  a  still  greater  extent  when  the  compari- 
son extends  to  the  hospitals. 

But  we  may  comfort  ourselves,  perhaps,  in 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS        293 

the  matter  of  music.  Commodore  Perry's 
narrative  tersely  informs  us  that  "  little  can 
be  said  in  commendation  of  their  Deficiency  in 
music."  Miss  Bacon,  in  "  Japan-  Music- 

ese  Girls  and  Women,"  demurely  observes: 
1 '  It  seems  to  me  quite  fortunate  that  the  mu- 
sical art  is  not  more  generally  practised;" 
whereupon  Professor  Chamberlain  remarks, 
' '  That  is  what  every  one  thinks,  though  most 
Europeans  of  the  stronger  sex  would  use  con- 
siderably stronger  expressions  to  relieve 
their  feelings  on  the  matter. ' '  The  very  lat- 
est essayist  on  Japan,  Mr.  Watson,  posi- 
tively avows:  " There  is  no  music  indigen- 
ous to  Japan,  nor  are  there  native  musical 
instruments.  This  I  affirm  in  the  full  knowl- 
edge that  there  is  a  Japanese  scale  of  five 
notes,  and  that  there  are  instruments  named 
samisen  and  koto.  I  repeat,  there  is  no  music 
indigenous  to  Japan,  nor  are  there  musical 
instruments  native  to  the  country." 

The  so-called  "musical  instruments"  of 
Japan  are  chiefly  the  samisen,  the  koto,  the 
kokyu,  and  the  biwa.  The  samisen  Japanese 
is  the  most  popular  instrument, 
being  in  the  hands  of  every  tea-house  girl  and 
love-lorn  swain.  It  is  a  mongrel  three- 
stringed  banjo,  imported  from  Manila  in 


294  YOUNG  JAPAN 

1700.  The  koto  is  a  kind  of  zither,  or  dul- 
cimer, with  thirteen  strings,  and  is  a  favor- 
ite with  the  better  classes  of  the  people.  It 
is  a  long,  narrow,  wooden  affair,  which  is 
laid  flat  upon  the  floor,  and  manipulated 
after  the  fashion  of  a  mandolin.  Its  tones 
are  much  more  pleasing  than  the  samisen 
(than  which  nothing  could  be  worse),  but 
it  is  correspondingly  difficult  to  play.  It  is 
an  evolution  from  a  Chinese  model,  and  was 
perfected  in  the  seventeenth  century  by  Ya- 
tsuhashi,  who  is  called  the  father  of  modern 
Japanese  music.  The  kokyu  is  a  fiddle  of 
three  strings,  and  the  less  said  about  it  the 
better.  The  biwa  is  a  large,  pear-shaped, 
four-string  lute,  commonly  played  by  old 
people.  It  was  once  the  writer's  privilege 
to  attend  a  classical  concert  in  Toyko.  He 
never  went  again.  The  musicians  sat  around 
on  the  floor  of  the  stage,  while  the  audience 
waited  in  reverential  silence.  Presently  the 
silence  was  broken  by  a  wild  welter  of  sound 
that  soon  drove  me,  in  the  effort  to  retain 
my  dignity,  almost  to  the  point  of  distraction. 
To  make  matters  worse,  each  of  the  solemn 
performers  would  occasionally  open  his  or 
her  mouth  and  emit  a  most  astonishing  howl, 
compounded  of  profound  canine  sorrow  and 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS        295 

the  nasal  honk  of  a  wild  goose.  There  is  a 
curious  Shinto  ceremony  known  as  a  silent 
concert.  Various  instruments  are  employed, 
but "  it  is  held  that  the  sanctity  of  the  occasion 
would  be  profaned  were  any  sound  to  fall 
on  profane  ears.  Therefore,  though  all  the 
motions  of  playing  are  gone  through,  no 
strains  are  actually  emitted."  This  is  the 
most  truly  musical  concert  which  the  native 
art  has  evolved. 

The  Japanese  scale  is  a  matter  of  dispute. 
It  is  sometimes  understood  to  consist  of  five 
notes  of  the  harmonic  minor  scale,  the  fourth 
and  seventh  being  omitted,  but  different 
opinions  are  advanced  by  differing  scholars. 
Indeed,  a  thoughtful  article  on  "The  Music 
of  Japan*'  in  the  Japan  Mail  declares  that 
"no  one  has  learned  enough  about  Japanese 
music  to  warrant  him  in  determining  the  key 
of  a  single  tune."  This  same  essay  asserts 
that  the  final  verdict  of  experts  regarding 
Japanese  music  will  be  somewhat  as  follows : 
"Music  in  this  country  came  into  existence 
in  obedience  to  a  natural  inspiration,  pre- 
cisely as  it  did  elsewhere.  Its  growth,  to  a 
certain  point,  was  regulated  by  the  same  prin- 
ciples as  those  under  which  the  melodies  of 
the  Greeks  were  gradually  developed.  These 


296  YOUNG  JAPAN 

melodies  passed  through  the  early  centuries 
of  the  Christian  era,  and  prevailed  in  Europe 
until  many  of  their  forms  were  found  incom- 
patible with  the  great  system  of  which  the 
Benedictines  of  Florence  were  the  first  ex- 
ponents— though  probably  not  the  inventors. 
Then  the  Greek  music  was  re-created.  But 
the  music  of  Japan  has  never  been  re-created. 
It  is  of  similar  grade  to  that  which  was,  for 
the  most  part,  rejected  by  the  mediaeval  har- 
monists, as  having  no  proper  standing  in 
progressive  art.  It  happened,  however,  that 
among  the  modes  derived  from  the  Greeks 
some  were  found  which  yielded  readily  to  the 
new  science,  and  upon  these  the  forms  of  mod- 
ern melody  were  doubtless  based.  We  are 
not  aware  that  any  corresponding  forms 
have  been  discovered  in  Japanese  music.  All 
the  examples  that  we  have  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  examining  appear  to  represent 
modes  which  reached  their  limit  ages  ago.— 
In  a  word,  Japanese  music,  as  we  have  it 
handed  down  by  tradition,  belongs  to  the 
past,  and  has  no  affinity  with  the  European 
music  of  to-day.  There  is  nothing  in  it  that 
can  be  further  developed  while  allowing  it  to 
retain  its  national  character."  It  may  be 
added  that  there  is  an  extremely  complicated 


MODERN    SCHOOL-DAYS         297 

notation  for  "classical"  music,  but  none  for 
the  more  popular  forms. 

The  high-grade  or  classical  tools  of  music 
embrace  a  variety  of  wind-  and  stringed-in- 
struments imported  ages  ago  from  Music  and 
India  by  way  of  China.  Music,  like  v***«™™- 
poetry  and  porcelain-making  in  Japan,  has 
always  been  more  or  less  esoteric  in  charac- 
ter. Esotericism,  indeed,  has  been  affected 
by  artists  and  artisans  of  every  art  and  craft 
throughout  the  ages — even  to  such  prosaic 
pursuits  as  bone-setting  and  cookery,  to  say 
nothing  of  fencing  and  jiu-jutsu.  To-day 
every  town  has  its  mei-butsu,  or  "famous 
product,"  to  be  had  nowhere  else,  because 
fostered  by  some  local  family  in  secret  the 
ages  through.  A  pretty  story  illustrative  of 
the  esoteric  in  music  comes  down  to  us  from 
the  tenth  century.  At  that  time  there  lived  a 
great  musician,  Hakuga,  whose  contempo- 
rary, Semi-Maro,  was  a  greater  musician 
still.  This  past-master  of  his  art  lived  in 
absolute  seclusion,  with  no  companion  but 
his  lute,  and  there  was  a  melody  whereof  he 
alone  possessed  the  secret.  "Hakuga  went 
every  evening  for  three  years  to  listen  sur- 
reptitiously at  Semi's  gate,  but  all  in  vain. 
Finally,  one  autumn  night,  when  the  wind 


298  YOUNG  JAPAN 

was  soughing  through  the  sedges,  and  the 
moon  was  half-hidden  by  a  cloud,  Hakuga's 
ravished  ears  were  blessed  with  the  secret 
magic  strains — and  when  they  ceased,  he 
heard  the  master  exclaim,  'Alas,  that  there 
should  be  no  one  to  whom  I  might  transmit 
my  precious  secret!'  Emboldened  by  this 
remark,  Hakuga  entered  the  hermitage,  pros- 
trated himself,  and  humbly  implored  to  be 
received  as  Semi's  disciple.  His  prayer  was 
granted,  and  Semi  gradually  revealed  to  him 
all  of  the  innermost  recesses  of  his  esoteric 
art."  It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  however, 
that  the  strains  which  ravished  Japanese  ears 
would  probably  have  set  a  European's  teeth 
on  edge — such  are  the  prosaic  facts  in  the 
case.  Nevertheless,  while  the  Japanese  are 
sadly  deficient  in  the  development  of  native 
music,  they  have  proved  themselves  meas- 
urably able  pupils  of  the  Western  school. 
The  writer  used  to  go  on  Saturday  even- 
ings with  great  enjoyment  to  the  services  of 
the  Greek  Cathedral  in  Tokyo,  where  Bishop 
Nicolai  and  his  associates  had  trained  a  noble 
chorus  to  intone  the  ancient  Christian  chants. 
Dr.  Ladd,  of  Yale,  went  so  far  as  to  say  in 
my  hearing  that  this  was  the  noblest  chorus 
singing  he  had  ever  heard.  And  Mr.  Wat- 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS        299 

son,  who  has  already  been  quoted  in  condem- 
nation of  the  native  music,  pays  an  eloquent 
and  appreciative  tribute  to  the  proficiency 
of  a  "westernized"  orchestra  in  Tokyo. 
The  fact  remains,  however,  that  music  is 
the  science  in  which  the  Japanese  have 
made  least  progress  during  their  Occidental 
school-days,  while  medicine  is  at  the  other 
extreme. 

Let  us  return  from  this  diversion  to  a 
further  examination  of  the  system  of  gov- 
ernment schools.  Next  to  the 

.    ,  .  ..  .,  Higher  Schools. 

imperial  university  come  the 
' '  higher  schools, ' '  corresponding  very  nearly 
to  the  average  American  college.  These  are 
eight  in  number,  and  are  situated  in  various 
parts  of  the  empire.  They  are  almost  invari- 
ably fitting  schools  for  the  university,  as 
no  student  proceeds  thus  far  unless  bent  on 
professional  pursuits.  About  six  thousand 
students  are  enrolled  in  these  "higher 
schools,"  and  an  average  of  fifty  teachers  to 
a  single  institution.  "No  degrees  are  given, 
and  the  fees  vary  according  to  the  courses 
followed."  The  course  usually  covers  four 
years. 

In  an  ever  widening  circle  from  the  great 
university  at  the  centre,  the  system  now 


300  YOUNG  JAPAN 

branches    out    into    the    " middle    schools," 

corresponding   to   our   academies   and   high 

schools,  of  which  there  are  two 

Middle  Schools.  ' 

hundred  and  fifty-eight  under 
the  direction  of  government,  with  an  enrol- 
ment of  nearly  eighty  thousand.  While  the 
government  directs  these  institutions,  they 
are  usually  supported  by  the  various  prefect- 
ures. The  course  of  study  covers  five  years. 
It  is  arranged  to  serve  the  purpose  of  pre- 
paring either  for  the  " higher  schools,"  or 
for  the  practical  pursuits  of  common  life. 
English  is  the  most  important  study,  with 
Japanese  and  Chinese  ranking  next.  Ath- 
letics is  accorded  great  attention,  owing  to 
the  desire  of  the  people  for  a  better  physique. 
Mathematics  and  history  are  treated  as  of 
much  importance,  while  ethics  receives  scant 
consideration.  The  course  further  includes 
a  second  foreign  language,  with  geography, 
natural  sciences,  writing,  drawing,  and  a 
little  singing. 

As  already  mentioned,  there  are  4,300,000 
pupils  in  the  "elementary"  schools  of  Japan, 
Elementary  of  which  there  are  about  twenty- 
schooia.  seven  thousand.  The  government 
states  that  these  schools,  which  are  in  two 
grades,  are  "designed  to  give  children  the 


MODERN    SCHOOL-DAYS         301 

rudiments  of  moral  education,  and  of  educa- 
tion especially  adapted  to  make  of  them  good 
members  of  the  community,  together  with 
such  general  knowledge  and  skill  as  are  nec- 
essary for  practical  life,  due  attention  being 
paid  to  their  physical  development."  The 
course  of  study  varies  from  two  to  four  years. 
Every  village  is  required  to  have  an  ele- 
mentary school,  and  each  child  that  has 
reached  the  age  of  six  years  is  compelled  to 
take  at  least  four  years  of  public  schooling. 
The  elementary  institutions  are  supported 
either  by  the  community  or  by  individuals. 
So  vital  is  the  concern  for  education  that  in 
1896  the  voluntary  contributions  for  the  sup- 
port of  schools  had  already  reached  the  sum 
of  750,000  yen  ($375,000).  This  was  in  addi- 
tion to  several  thousand  acres  of  land,  with 
books  and  school  apparatus,  besides  the 
large  educational  taxes.  The  elementary 
schools  include  industrial  features,  such  as 
simple  farming  for  the  boys  and  sewing  for 
their  sisters.  Kindergartens  are  here  and 
there  provided,  especially  in  the  largest  of 
the  cities.  "In  certain  points  they  are  still 
open  to  improvement,  but  in  their  buildings, 
their  rules  regulating  space,  air,  and  other 
hygienic  matters,  the  kindergartens  of  the 


302  YOUNG  JAPAN 

West  might  go  to  school  to  Japan."  This 
brings  us  to  the  bottom  of  the  educational 
ladder  provided  by  the  government. 

But  it  must  not  be  overlooked  that  for  the 
purpose  of  furnishing  teachers  for  the  ele- 
Normai  schools,  mentary  schools,  the  government 
etc-  supports  more  than  fifty  normal 

schools,  which  accomplish  a  most  effective 
work.  There  are  also  various  technical  col- 
leges that  have  reached  a  high  grade  of  effi- 
ciency. The  curriculum  of  the  Tokyo  Higher 
Technical  School  includes  mechanical  engi- 
neering, electro-chemistry,  applied  chem- 
istry, dyeing,  weaving,  ceramics,  design- 
ing, and  making  of  cuts  for  printing.  The 
most  seriously  neglected  class  of  students 
is  the  women,  as  might  naturally  be  ex- 
pected of  a  country  so  lately  unbound  from 
the  degrading  teachings  of  Confucius.  Even 
in  the  normal  schools  the  men  are  largely 
preponderant.  The  government  has  taken 
Female  a  higher  stand  for  the  education  of 
Education.  women  since  the  year  1890,  when 
the  educational  minister  declared  in  his 
official  report  that  "female  education  is 
the  source  from  which  general  education 
should  be  diffused  over  the  whole  country." 
There  were  then  only  eight  government 


A  PRIMARY  SCHOOL  FOR  GIRLS. 


MODERN    SCHOOL-DAYS         303 

schools  for  women,  with  an  attendance  of 
three  thousand.  Ten  years  later,  there  were 
forty-four  such  schools,  with  an  attendance  of 
almost  twelve  thousand.  "The  course  of 
study  extends  over  five  years,  with  twenty- 
five  hours  of  prescribed  work  each  week,  in- 
cluding, however,  such  relaxing  subjects  as 
household  management,  singing,  and  gym- 
nastics." But  it  is  difficult  to  make  the  peo- 
ple see  the  importance  of  the  education  of 
girls.  There  is  an  independent  university  for 
women  in  Tokyo,  established  a  few  years  ago, 
which  marks  another  new  era  in  the  educa- 
tion of  the  Japanese  women. 

There  is  one  radical  and  alarming  defect 
in  the  entire  system  of  government  schools: 
the  moral  and  religious  element  is  The  Radical 
almost  totally  ignored.  This  is  in  Flaw- 

accord  with  the  well-known  views  of  Mar- 
quis Ito,  who  seems  to  dominate  modern 
Japan.  "I  myself  look  to  science,  knowl- 
edge, culture,  as  a  sufficient  religion," 
that  is  his  uttered  creed.  At  times  the 
attitude  of  the  educational  department  has 
become  so  antagonistic  to  Christianity  as 
to  threaten  the  violation  of  the  constitu- 
tion, which  declares  that  "Japanese  sub- 
jects shall,  within  limits  not  prejudicial  to 


304  YOUNG  JAPAN 

peace  and  order,  and  not  antagonistic  to 
their  duties  as  subjects,  enjoy  freedom  of 
religious  belief."  In  1899-1900,  the  minister 
for  education  issued  an  order  directly  hostile 
to  the  numerous  Christian  schools,  and  the 
vice-minister  declared  that  "while  the  con- 
stitution allows  liberty  to  believe  any  religion, 
yet  this  does  not  necessarily  mean  liberty 
to  propagate  it!"  The  Diet  has  since  then 
passed  an  ordinance  that  makes  it  impossible 
for  discriminations  to  be  made  against  Chris- 
tianity; but  this  does  not  alter  the  fact  that 
the  government  educational  system  is  con- 
ducted on  thoroughly  irreligious  principles. 
Its  attitude  is  accurately  expressed  in  the 
recent  utterance  of  a  university  professor: 
"We  shall  go  to  China — in  fact,  we  are 
already  there — with  a  harmonious  blending 
of  the  best  precepts  in  Buddhism,  Confucian- 
ism, Bushido,  Brahmanism,  Herbert  Spencer, 
Christianity,  and  other  systems  of  thought, 
and  we  shall,  I  think,  have  little  trouble  in 
awakening  the  naturally  agnostic  mind  of  the 
Chinese  to  the  enlightenment  of  modern  free 
thought.  .  .  .  We  confidently  believe  that  it 
has  been  assigned  to  Japan  to  lead  the  world 
in  this  new  intellectual  era  in  the  progress  of 
mankind. '  ' 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS        305 

There  are  two  features  of  this  characteris- 
tic declaration  that  invite  the  most  serious 
attention.  In  the  first  place,  it 

J  '  The  problem. 

cannot  be  questioned  that  Japan 
is  sooner  or  later  to  become  the  schoolmas- 
ter of  China,  and  China  holds  a  third  of  the 
human  race.  In  the  second  place,  the  new 
gospel  which  Japan  proposes  to  champion  has 
proved  sadly  insufficient  for  her  own  needs. 
For,  in  spite  of  her  advance  in  education, 
there  has  been  actual  retrogression  in  morals. 
Count  Kabayama,  the  very  minister  who 
antagonized  Christianity,  confessed  that  the 
young  men  of  Japan  are  now  on  a  lower 
moral  plane  than  were  the  young  men  of  the 
preceding  generation.  And  the  successor 
of  the  great  Fukuzawa  as  president  of  the 
largest  private  college  in  the  empire  recently 
declared  in  a  public  address:  "It  looks  as 
though  corruption  covered  every  part  of  pub- 
lic works  and  education,  so  that  children  in 
leaving  their  homes  to  go  to  school  must 
tramp  over  roads  constructed  by  bribery, 
must  cross  bridges  built  by  bribery,  must 
enter  school  buildings  erected  by  bribery,  and 
while  reading  the  educational  text-books 
their  teachers  are  arrested  for  bribery!" 
This  was  in  allusion  to  a  great  scandal  that 

20 


306  YOUNG  JAPAN 

makes  the  year  1903  notorious  in  the  educa- 
tional history  of  Japan, — when  it  was  dis- 
covered that  the  system  to  which  had  been 
entrusted  the  moral  education  of  the  Japan- 
ese youth  was  honeycombed  with  rottenness 
from  end  to  end.  Japan  is  the  only  nation 
that  has  ever  dared  to  separate  religion 
wholly  from  government,  and  morals  from 
law, — to  make  reason  a  sole  and  sufficient 
guide, — and  Japan  is  paying  the  penalty. 
Shall  Japan  be  allowed  to  substitute  moral 
suicide  for  her  ancient  code  of  hara-kiri,  and 
to  diffuse  the  poison  of  religious  indifference 
throughout  Asia? 

In  a  previous  section  of  this  book  attention 
was  directed  to  five  noble  qualities  of  Jap- 
japanese  anesc  character:  bravery,  loyalty, 
Morals.  alertness,  thoroughness,  and  self- 
control.  To  the  superficial,  this  might  seem 
to  be  a  sufficient  moral  equipment  for  any 
nation.  But  a  little  thought  convinces  other- 
wise. What  is  bravery  worth  without  purity? 
What  value  has  loyalty  without  honesty  ?  The 
intellect  must  not  only  be  alert  and  thorough, 
but  it  must  also  be  sincere.  The  will  must 
learn  not  only  self-control,  it  must  also  learn 
self-reverence.  The  two  cancers  at  the  core 
of  the  Japanese  character  are  deep-set  dis- 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         307 

honesty  and  abandoned  impurity;  either 
would  be  sufficient  to  wreck  the  life  of  any 
nation. 

Let  it  not  be  said  that  this  is  the  prejudiced 
opinion  of  an  unsympathetic  outsider.  A 
Japanese  journalist  recently  confessed  that 
"our  countrymen  have  earned  an  unenviable 
reputation  of  being  the  most  untrustworthy 
people  on  earth, ' '  and  admitted  that  they  had 
earned  it  justly.  As  for  the  other,  Japan  is 
the  only  civilized  government  that  deals  in 
licensed  prostitution  as  a  source  of  revenue, 
and  tolerates  the  sale  of  young  girls  by  their 
parents  under  guise  of  a  regard  for  "  filial 
piety. ' ' 

Christianity  has  had  considerable  influence 
in  widening  the  moral  conceptions  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  in  deepening  these  into  subsequent 
convictions.  The  pervasiveness  of  this  in- 
fluence has  already  been  distinctly  suggested 
in  connection  with  the  career  of  Verbeck; 
nor  must  such  institutions  as  the  Bed  Cross 
Society  be  left  out  of  account.  Besides,  the 
presence  throughout  the  empire  of  scores  of 
mission  schools  is  having  a  profound  educa- 
tional effect.  As  to  the  actual  number  of 
converts,  this  propaganda  is  not  yet  fifty 
years  old,  but  has  nevertheless  gained  an 


308  YOUNG  JAPAN 

average  annual  following  of  almost  a  thou- 
sand members,  while  the  number  of  annual 
accessions  for  several  years  past  has  been 
three  thousand  or  more.  And  the  member- 
ship has  been  recruited  from  among  the  most 
influential  classes — including  members  of 
parliament,  legislators,  judges,  officers  in  the 
army  and  navy,  lawyers,  bankers,  physicians, 
and  editors. 

But  the  stubborn  fact  remains  that  for 
every  inhabitant  of  Japan  who  is  influenced 
by  Christian  standards  of  conduct,  there  are 
999  whose  highest  ideals  centre  in  devotion  to 
the  Emperor,  and  have  no  radius  whatsoever. 
We  must  not  permit  the  glamour  of  their 
splendid  patriotism  to  blind  us  to  the  un- 
pleasant fact  that  the  Japanese  as  a  people 
are  not  even  the  ethical  equals  of  their  back- 
ward neighbors  in  China.  In  spite  of  its  in- 
finite charm,  Japan  is  still  a  country  where 
the  word  "lie"  has  no  unpleasant  associa- 
tions whatever ;  being  not  a  term  of  reproach, 
but  rather  implying  a  jocular  compliment. 
The  commercial  dishonesty  of  Japanese  mer- 
chants has  become  a  byword  among  the  na- 
tions, and  is  a  serious  hindrance  to  Oriental 
trade — in  striking  contrast  with  China.  Du- 
plicity of  the  most  repulsive  character  is 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         309 

often  masked  by  the  curious  "  Japanese 
smile."  An  offensive,  even  nauseating,  con- 
ceit often  mars  the  grace  of  the  popular  man- 
ners. Japanese  social  impurity  is  as  much  of 
a  national  byword  as  commercial  dishonesty ; 
the  Yoshiwara  quarter  in  every  town  and 
city  being  not  only  a  licensed  institution,  but 
invariably  the  best-built  and  most  prosperous 
section  of  the  municipality.  And  yet,  in  spite 
of  a  wofully  decadent  morality,  material  and 
even  intellectual  progress  goes  forward  by 
leaps  and  bounds.  It  is  this  enormous  dis- 
parity between  material  and  moral  advance- 
ment that  makes  the  future  of  Japan  so  prob- 
lematical. It  is  the  evolution  of  a  real  world- 
power  that  we  have  witnessed;  but  whether 
this  power  shall  prove  a  curse  or  a  blessing 
to  mankind  will  depend  upon  the  nature  of 
the  further  educational  training  of  "Young 
Japan. ' ' 

The  sanest  of  her  leaders  perceive  the  im- 
portance of  this  fact  most  clearly.  We  are 
told  that  an  important  member  of 

...  The  Future? 

the  Japanese  judiciary  recently  ex- 
pressed himself  as  follows :  * '  From  a  purely 
materialistic  point  of  view  the  Japanese  have 
absorbed  more  or  less  all  European  civiliza- 
tion, but  at  the  same  time  the  process  has 


310  YOUNG  JAPAN 

been  only  superficial,  and  it  cannot  truthfully 
be  said  that  the  nation  as  a  whole  has  ab- 
sorbed it,  or  that  they  are  civilized  from  a 
European  point  of  view.  There  is  a  void 
somewhere;  that  void  will  have  to  be  sup- 
plied by  the  idealism  of  the  West,  which  has 
been  entirely  ignored  by  Japan,  while  the 
materialism  has  been  successfully  assimi- 
lated.— It  therefore  seems  to  me  that  if  we 
take  in  the  material  civilization  of  Europe  we 
must  also  take  in  to  counterbalance  it  the 
idealism  and  spiritual  soul,  as  it  were,  of 
Occidental  enlightenment.  The  course  of  tui- 
tion will  take  place  gradually.  The  mer- 
chants, if  they  persist  in  their  present  prac- 
tices, will  inevitably  lose  their  clients,  and  it 
will  then  begin  to  dawn  upon  them  that  they 
must  be  honest  and  thoroughly  upright  in 
order  to  succeed  in  life  in  the  proper  sense  of 
the  term. " 

Count  Okuma,  who  ranks  next  to  Ito  as  the 
most  able  of  Japanese  statesmen,  acknowl- 
edges the  same  disease  and  suggests  the  same 
remedy,  only  with  the  use  of  plainer  lan- 
guage. Eepudiating  the  purely  cultural 
creed  of  his  great  associate,*  albeit  not  him- 

*  See  page  303. 


MODERN   SCHOOL-DAYS         311 

self  a  follower  of  the  Christian  faith,  Count 
Okuina  has  recently  issued  the  following 
striking  statement :  "It  is  a  question  whether 
as  a  people  we  have  not  lost  fibre  as  a  result 
of  the  many  new  influences  to  which  we  have 
been  subjected. — Development  has  been  in- 
tellectual and  not  moral.  The  efforts  that 
Christians  are  making  to  supply  to  the  coun- 
try a  high  standard  of  conduct  are  welcomed 
by  all  right-thinking  people.  As  one  reads 
the  Bible  one  may  think  it  antiquated,  out  of 
date.  The  words  it  contains  may  so  appear, 
but  the  noble  life  that  it  holds  up  to  admira- 
tion is  something  that  will  never  be  out  of 
date,  however  much  the  world  may  progress. 
Live  and  preach  this  life,  and  you  will  supply 
to  the  nation  just  what  it  needs  at  the  present 
crisis." 

The  present  is  a  crisis  in  the  life  of  this 
sturdy  young  nation.  Shall  Okuma's  advice 
prevail,  or  Ito's?  Upon  the  answer  to  this 
question  depends  the  future  manhood  of 
Japan. 


INDEX 


Abdication,  59 

Aborigines,  18,  24 

Adams,  Will,  134  ff. 

Agriculture,  17,  30,  131 

Aims  of  Perry  Expedition,  195 

Ainu,  18,  24,  82,  165 

Akahito,  65 

Alcock,  E.,  104 

Alertness  of  intellect,  156  ff. 

Amazon,  a  Japanese,  28 

America's  aims  in  opening  Japan,  195 

Amur  River,  264  ff. 

Ancestor-worship,  31  ff.,  152 

Ancient  Japan,  18  ff. 

Anderson,  99,  102 

Anjiro,  107,  136 

Anthem,  national,  62 

Architecture,  30,  172  ff. 

Area  of  Japan,  17,  18 

Armada  defeated,  85 

Army  of  modern  Japan,  232,  274  ff. 

Arts— and  Buddhism,  91,  168 

Architecture,  30,  172  ff. 

Bronzes,  87  ff. 

Carving,  154,  169 

Ceramics,  121  ff. 

313 


314  INDEX 

Arts — Cloisonne,  154 

Lacquer,  104,  154,  170  ff. 

Metals,  87  ff. 

Painting,  95  ff. 

Porcelain,  121  ff. 
Artists,  standing  of,  131 
Ashikaga  clan,  93  ff. 
Aston,  W.  G.,  68 
Attempts  to  open  Japan,  194 

Babies,  43  ff. 
Bacon,  Miss  A.,  293 
Baseball,  164 
Battles  of  Hakata,  86 

Kyoto,  211,  214 

Osaka,  140 

Sekigahara,  126 

Shimabara,  144 

Shimonoseki,  77,  211 
Elaine,  J.  G.,  242 
Boxer  War,  263,  271 
Bravery,  26,  149  ff.,  162  ff.,  280 
Brown,  S.  R.,  226 
Bryce,  J.,  242 
Buddha,  the  Great,  86 
Buddhism : 

Architecture,  169,  172 

Beginnings,  31  ff.,  55  ff. 

Displacement,  41,  177,  234 

Height  of  power,  95 

Influence  on  art,  91  ff.,  168 

Education,  41,  56  ff.,  166  ff.,  176 

Persecuted,  111  ff.,  137,  190 


INDEX  315 

Buddhism — Teachings,  32  ff.,  41 

Temples,  169,  172 
Bureaucracy,  58 
Bushido,  179,  304 

Capitals  of  Japan,  59,  82,  216 
Carving,  ivory,  154,  170 

wood,  169  ff. 
Gary,  0.,  145 

Castles,  architecture  of,  175 
Ceramics,  121  ff. 
Ceremonies,  childhood,  44  ff. 

tea,  94 

Chamberlain,  B.  H.,  71,  95,  98,  123,  154,  190,  293 
Character  of  Japanese,  20  ff.,  41,  148  ff.,  183,  204,  306 
Charter  Oath,  221,  242 
Cha-yu  ceremonies,  94 
"  Childhood,"  its  significance,  147 
Children,  43  ff.,  161  ff. 
China,  first  contact  with,  29  ff.,  55  ff. 

future  of,  305.    See  also  Wars 
Chinese  and  Japanese  contrasted,  20,  183 

and  Japanese  languages,  20,  70,  153,  167 
Chivalry,  26 
Choshu  clan,  192  ff. 
Christianity,  closes  the  empire,  135 

early  persecutions,  117  ff.,  139  ff. 

first  missions,  107,  112 

historical  importance,  55 

modern  persecutions,  205,  229,  304 

opens  the  empire,  191 

Protestant  missions,  225,  307 
Civilization,  earliest,  29 


316  INDEX 

Clan  government,  281 

Classes  of  society,  19,  130  ff. 

Cleanliness,  40 

Climate,  17 

Cloisonne,  154 

Closing  of  empire,  135,  145 

Clothing,  30 

Colonies,  18,  235 

Columbus  and  Japan,  201 

Commercial  progress,  283 

Confucius,  33,  177 

Confucianism,  influence  on  education,  177  ff. 

teachings  of,  33  ff.,  178,  185 
Constitution  promised,  238 

promulgated,  241  ff. 

Contrast  between  Chinese  and  Japanese,  20,  183 
Courage.    See  Bravery 
Cow  and  education,  168,  202 
Creation  of  Japan,  legend,  21  ff. 
Culture,  earliest,  29 
Czar,  254,  260,  267  ff. 

Dai  Butsu,  87 

Daimyo,  development  of,  15 

origin  of,  130,  132 

released,  210 

resign,  219 
Dai  Nihon  Shi,  188 
Dance  songs,  71  ff. 
Deshima,  145 

Diet,  222,  255,  304.    See  also  Constitution. 
Drama,  71,  94,  161 
Dresser,  Dr.,  174 


INDEX  317 

Dutch  appear  in  Japan,  134 

commercial  influence,  145,  192 
relation  to  early  Christianity,  145 

Earthquakes  and  architecture,  174 

destroy  Yedo,  208 

frequency  of,  208 

measurement  of,  291 
East,  A.,  98 
Edicts  against  Christianity,  118,  138,  144,  229 

removed,  232 
Education  and  Buddhism,  41,  92,  166  ff.,  176 

and  Confucianism,  35,  177  ff. 

and  cow  symbol,  168,  202 

and  ideographs,  105,  153,  167 

and  Perry's  arrival,  202 

and  Tokugawa  rule,  148  ff.,  169 

defect  of,  303 

Fukuzawa,  288 

god  of,  167 

lyeyasu's  influence,  185  ff. 

Middle  Ages,  149  ff.,  163 

modern,  284  ff. 

prepares  for  Perry,  185  ff. 

rescript  of,  35 

statistics  of,  285  ff.,  301 

supreme  influence  of,  187 

women's,  302 

Embassy  to  Christendom,  231 
Emperor,  abdication  of,  59 

divinity  of,  38,  40,  152 

early  power,  58 

first,  23 


318  INDEX 

Emperor — greatest,  86 

loyalty  to,  152.    See  also  Go-Daigo,  Komei,  Mutsu- 

hito,  etc. 
Empire,  beginning  of,  23 

closing  of,  135,  145 

unification  of,  128 
Empress  Jingo,  28,  55 

Suiko,  58,  219 
England  and  Japan,  263  ff. 
Englishman,  the  first,  133 
Esotericism,  297  ff. 
Esthetics,  30  ff.,  40,  92, 122, 153 
Eta,  132,  233 
Ethnology,  18  ff. 

Europe,  first  contact  with,  106,  201 
Evolution  of  ideals,  35,  148  ff. 
Evolutionary  theory,  147 

Farmers,  standing  of,  131 
Fauna,  18 

"  Feather  Robe,"  72 
Festivals,  48  ff.,  164 
Feudalism,  beginning  of,  74 

castles  of,  175 

development  of,  128  ff. 

fall  of,  210 

Filial  piety,  25,  33  ff.,  43,  76 
Fillmore's  letter,  195 
Finances,  282 
Fiske,  J.,  147 
Five  characteristics,  148  ff. 
Flag,  meaning  of,  40 
Flora,  17 


INDEX  319 

Foods,  17 
Foreign  fever,  239 

sports,  164 

Formosa,  18,  235,  261 
Founding  of  empire,  23 
Four-and-twenty  paragons,  34 
Fujiwara  clan,  59  ff. 
Fukuzawa,  288  ff.,  305 
Future  of  Japan,  309 

Games,  160  ff. 

Genji  romance,  67,  69 

Geography,  16,  17 

Geology,  16 

Girls,  position  of,  43,  161,  302 

God  of  education,  167 

scarecrows,  39 

thunder  and  wind,  173 
Go-Daigo,  84,  86,  93,  151, 167,  168 
Grant,  visit  of,  238 
Greeks  and  Japanese,  40,  71,  296 
Greene,  F.  V.,  285 

Griffis,  W.  E.,  80,  126,  137,  141,  170,  201,  204 
Gubbins,  J.  H.,  140 

Hakuga,  297 
Hara-kiri,  26,  149  ff. 
Harbin,  271 
Hartmann,  S.,  122,  171 
Hearn,  L.,  35,  40,  89,  95,  156 
Hepburn,  J.  C.,  225 
Hidari  Jingoro,  169 
Hideyori,  139 


320  INDEX 

Hideyoshi,  113  ff. 

Histories.     See  Dai  Nihon  Shi,  Kojiki,  Nihongi,  Nihon 

Gwaishi 
Hitomaro,  64 
Hitotsu-bashi,  212  ff. 
Ho  jo  clan,  84 
Hokusai,  98,  102 
Hondo,  16 
Hoshino,  282 

Ideals,  35,  148  ff. 
Ideographs,  105,  153,  167 
li,  208,  209 
Imitative  genius,  21 
Imperialism,  beginning  of,  57 

decline  of,  58  ff.,  81 

restoration  of,  215 
Infanticide,  43 
Intellectual  qualities,  153  ff. 
Invasion  of  Japan,  85 
Invasions  of  Korea,  28,  55,  188  ff.,  235,  258 
Inventions  of  note,  291 
Islands  of  Japan,  21 
Ito,  220,  239,  241,  257,  268,  269,  303 
Ivory  carving,  154,  170 
Iwakura,  231,  232 
lyemitsu,  142  ff.,  151 
lyemochi,  209,  212 
lyesada,  206,  208 
lyeyasu,  70,  113,  125  ff.,  185  ff. 

"  Japan,"  meaning  of,  19 
Jesuit  difficulties,  117  ff.,  136  ff. 


INDEX  321 


Jigai,  150 

Jimmu,  23 

Jingo,  28,  55 

Jiu-jutsu,  156  ft.,  277,  297 

J6-i  party,  206,  209 

Judiciary  established,  236 

Kabayama,  305 
Kaempfer,  145 
Kagoshima,  107,  224 
Kamakura  built,  82 

destroyed,  86 
Kame-ido,  168 
Kana,  invention  of,  167 
Kaneko,  241,  255 
Kano  artists,  100 
Kido,  221 
Kindergartens,  301 
Kirin,  264 
Kite-flying,  162 
Kobo  Daishi,  166 
Kojiki,  60,  189 
Kokinshu,  66 
Komei,  207,  209,  213 
Korea  and  Buddhism,  31,  56,  173 

and  Japanese  language,  20 
porcelains,  121 

invasions  of,  28,  55,  118  ft.,  235,  258 

treaty  with,  236,  257 
Kose,  98 
Kublai  Khan,  85 
Kuge,  132 
Kuroki,  278 

21 


322  INDEX 

Kusunoki,  151 

Kwanto,  125 

Kyoto,  battles  of,  211,  214 

becomes  capital,  59 

powers  limited,  83 
Kyushu,  settlements  in,  19,  24 

Lacquer,  104,  154,  170  ff. 

Ladd,  G.  T.,  298 

Language,  20,  70,  153,  167,  177.    See  Literature,  Prose, 

Poetry 

Legends,  21  ff.,  64,  67,  72,  75,  78,  114,  297 
Lewis,  R.  E.,  177,  288 
Liggins,  J.,  225 
Li  Hung  Chang,  259,  260 
Literature,  golden  age,  60  ff. 
origin  of,  60 
Tokugawa  period,  191.    See  also  Language,  Poetry, 

Prose 

Longfellow,  124 
Loochoo,  18,  236,  238 
Loyalty,   151,   179,  280   ff.     See  also   Bravery,   Filial 

Piety,  Patriotism 

"  Mail,  Japan,"  262,  269,  295 
Manchuria,  264  ff. 
Manyoshu,  61  ff. 
Marco  Polo,  19,  201 
Massacre  of  Port  Arthur,  281 

Shimabara,  143,  192 
Medicine,  291 
Meiji  period,  218 
Mendez  Pinto,  106 


INDEX  323 

Merchants,  standing  of,  131 
Metal  arts,  87  ff. 
Michizane,  167,  202 
Militarism,  beginnings  of,  74 

development  of,  149  ff.,  163 
Minamoto  clan,  73  ff. 
Minerals,  17 
Missions,  early  persecutions,  117  ff.,  139  ff. 

excluded,  135 

modern  persecutions,  205,  229,  304 

Protestant,  225,  307 

Xavier,   107   ff.     See  also   Roman   Catholics,  and 

Jesuit  difficulties 
Mitford,  A.  B.,  133,  150 
Mito,  Princes  of,  188  ff.,  205,  220,  230 
Mitsukuni,  188,  189 
Mongolian  origin  of  Japanese,  18 
Monks,  Buddhist,  111,  114,  176 
Morality  of  Japanese,  25,  30  ff.,  76,  158,  178,  281  ff., 

306 

Mori,  241 

Morrison  incident,  205 
Muravief,  265,  266 
Music,  293  ff. 
Mutsuhito  proclaimed,  213 

removes  to  Tokyo,  216 

sanctions  Constitution,  241 

takes  Charter  Oath,  221 
"Myriad  Leaves,"  61  ff. 
Mythology,  21  ff. 

Nagoya,  castle  of,  176 
Napoleon  of  Japan,  117,  121 


324  INDEX 

Nara,  59 

National  anthem,  62 
Navy,  modern,  232,  276  ff. 
Neck-stretcher,  166 
New-year,  161,  164 
Nicolai,  298 
Nihongi,  60,  189 
Nihon  Gwaishi,  189 
Nobility,  58,  130 
Nobunaga,  109  ff. 
Nogi,  278  ff. 

Ogawa,  170 

Okubo's  proposal,  217 

Okuma  quoted,  284,  310 

Ono,  88 

Opening  of  empire,  194  ff. 

Origin  of  Japanese,  18,  24 

Osaka,  destruction  of  castles,  112,  140 

Oyama,  278 

Pagoda  architecture,  174 
Painting,  95  ff. 
Paragons,  34. 
Pariahs,  132,  233 
Parliament.    See  Diet 
Pastimes,  160  ff. 
Patriotism,  beginnings  of,  37 

development  of,  149  ff.,  223.    See  Loyalty 
Periods  of  history,  6 
Perry,  M.  C.,  his  influence,  57 

his  narrative,  193  ff. 

prepared  for,  184  ff. 
Persecutions.    See  Buddhism,  Christianity 


INDEX  325 

Peter  the  Great,  155,  288 
Philippines,  18 
Physiography,  16 
"  Pillow  Book,"  67 
Pit-dwellers,  24 
Poetry,  Classic  Age,  60  ff. 

examples  of,  51,  65,  66,  73 
Porcelain,  121  ff.,  154 
Port  Arthur,  270  ff. 
Pottery.    See  Porcelain 
Primitive  customs,  29 
Pronunciation  of  names,  7 
Prose  tales,  67  ff. 
Prosody,  61 

Ranks,  58,  130  ff. 

Religions.     See  Buddhism,  Bushido,  Christianity,  Con- 
fucianism, Shinto 
Renaissance,  Japanese,  186  ff. 
Revolution,  Japanese,  208  ff. 
Roman  Catholic  missions,  107  ff.,  137,  229 
Ronin,  133,  209 

Russia,  Troubles  with,  155,   261   ff.     See   Czar,  Wars 
Russian  education,  285 

Saga  rebellion,  235 
Saghalien,  264,  266 
SaigS,  236 
Samurai,  beginnings,  130 

development,  151 
Sat-Cho  clans,  205,  209  ff. 

monopoly  of,  278 
Satsuma  clan,  107,  116,  192,  205,  224  ff. 

rebellion,  237 


326  INDEX 

Satow,  E.,  189 

Scarecrows,  god  of,  39 

Schools.     See  Education 

Sekigahara,  battle  of,  126 

Sesshu,  98  ff. 

Shantung,  270 

Shaw,  A.,  288 

Shimabara  massacre,  143,  192 

Shimonoseki,  battles  of,  77,  211 

treaty  of,  261 
Shinto,  30  ff. 

lack  of  art,  95,  172 

modern  growth,  38 

pervasive  influence,  39 
Ship-building,  155 
Shizuoka,  129,  215 
Shogun,  beginnings,  81 

dealings  with  Perry,  197  ff. 

last  of  the  line,  212-215 
Shogunate,  beginnings,  81  ff. 

completion,  128 

eclipse  of,  93 

restoration  of,  93 

undermined,  185  ff. 

varnishes,  215 

Shotoku  Taishi,  56  ff.,  166,  187 
Simmons,  D.  B.,  226 
Social  structure,  130  ff. 
Soshi,  240,  260 
Spencer,  H.,  242 
Suicide,  25,  149  ff. 
Suiko,  58,  219 
Sunday  observance,  236 
Syllabary,  167 


INDEX  327 


Taiko,  114  ff. 

Taira  clan,  73  ff. 

Tea  ceremonies,  94 

Temples,  architecture  of,  173 

Tenjin,  167 

Theatre,  161,  165.    See  Drama 

Thoroughness,  153 

Tokugawa  Shogunate,  70,  126  ff. 

prepares  for  Perry,  184  ff. 

supreme  influence  of,  148  ff.,  169 
Tokyo  established,  83,  127 

meaning  of  name,  84 

occupied  by  emperor,  216 
Torii,  172 
"  Tosa  Nikki,"  67 
Trampling  on  the  cross,  143 
Treaty  revision,  240,  263 
Tromometer,  291 
Tsurayuki,  66 
"  Tycoon,"  152 

University,  290 
Ussuri  region,  265  ff. 
Usurpation,  Ho  jo,  84 

Verbeck,  G.  F.,  226  ff. 
Vladivostok,  265 

Wars — Ainu,  24 
Buddhism,  56 
China,  120,  234,  257  ff. 
Fujiwara,  74 
Hideyoshi,  116  ff. 


328  INDEX 

Wars — lyemitsu,  144 

lyeyasu,  126,  140 

Korea,  28,  118 

Nobunaga,  109  ff. 

of  the  Roses,  94 

Revolution,  208  ff. 

Russia,  155,  263  ff. 

Taira  and  Minamoto,  75 
Washington,  George,  212 
Watson,  W.  P.,  215,  293,  298 
"  Weeds  of  Idleness,"  70 
Williams,  C.  M.,  225 
Women,  loyalty  of,  150,  237,  280 

position  of,  35,  43,  68,  69,  179,  302 

writers,  68 
Wood-carving,  169 
Writing,  method  of,  105,  167 

Xavier,  107  ff.,  136 

Yamagata,  276 
Yamamoto,  276 
Yamato,  24 

Yamato-dake,  24,  27,  45 
Yamato-damashii,  26  ff. 
Yedo  built,  83 

destroyed,  208 
Yezo,  17,  24,  201 
Yokosuka,  155,  276 
Yoritomo,  81  ff.,  118 
Yoshitsune,  75  ff. 
Yoshiwara,  309 


JAPAN  TO-DAY 

By  JAMES   A.   B.  SCHERER,  PH.D. 

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the  '  Nibelungen  Ring'  but  have  not  access  to  German 
literature  in  the  original,  may  learn  much  of  the  sources 
of  the  work  and  of  its  relation  to  the  whole  body  of 
Teutonic  legends,  in  the  very  attractive  volume  prepared 
by  Dr.  Sawyer." — Philadelphia  Public  Ledger. 


J.   B.   LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY,   PHILADELPHIA. 


The   True    History  of    the 
American    Revolution. 

By  SYDNEY  GEORGE   FISHER. 

These  are  the  real  facts  of  the  days  of  1776.  Mr. 
Fisher  has  some  things  to  tell  about  the  conduct  of 
the  War  of  the  Revolution,  its  chief  figures,  and  the 
reasons  for  its  outcome,  which  will  startle  every  reader 
of  American  history. 

He  writes  of  the  smuggling,  rioting,  and  revolt 
against  control  which  marked  the  exercise  of  the 
Taxing  Acts  ;  the  Tea  Party  in  Boston  ;  the  Reign  of 
Terror ;  Howe,  the  Political  General ;  Whigery  and 
Weakness  ;  the  Pretended  Loyalty  of  the  Colonists  ; 
the  Price  of  Bunker  Hill ;  ' '  the  Best  Campaign  of  the 
War  ;' '  the  Battles  about  Boston,  Philadelphia,  and  on 
Long  Island ;  the  Abandonment  of  Burgoyne ;  the 
Campaign  in  the  South  ;  the  Hopeless  Year  of  1780  ; 
and  of  Yorktown. 


Twenty-four  illustrations.     Crown  8vo.     Cloth,  decorated, 
$2.00,  net.     Postage,  14  cents  extra. 


J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT   COMPANY,  PHILADELPHIA. 


BUSINESS 

BY     L.     DEV.     MATTHEWMAN 


Profusely  illustrated.     I2mo. 
Decorated  cloth,  $1.00,  net. 


A  series  of  snappy  epigrams  by  the  author  of 
"Crankisms,"  on  the  principles  and  lack  of  prin- 
ciples in  business. 

It  is  full  of  humorous  philosophy  on  practical 
men  and  things  in  tablet  form.  Fifty  full-page  and 
many  smaller  sketches  by  Tom  Fleming. 

' '  Spiced  with  the  cleverness  neces- 
sary to  the  success  of  all  smartness,  these 
aphorisms  are  both  witty  and  wise." — 
Toledo  Blade,  Ohio. 


J.   B.   LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY,    PHILADELPHIA 


DISEASES  OF  SOCIETY 

BY  G.  FRANK  LYDSTON,  M.D. 


8vo.      Illustrated.       Cloth,  $3.00,   net. 
Postage,  17  cents  extra. 


An  outspoken  study  of  phases  of  the  vice  and 
crime  problem  and  social  conditions  before  untouched 
on  in  a  work  of  general  circulation. 

Dr.  Lydston  fearlessly  discusses  the  criminal,  an- 
archist, sexual  pervert,  and  the  vast  number  of 
offenders  against  the  moral  law  in  society  at  large 
whom  the  courts  do  not  reach.  The  author  takes 
up  the  oppression  of  wealth,  the  rights  and  wrongs 
of  organized  capital  and  labor,  the  negro  question 
and  the  crimes  which  have  grown  out  of  it.  Dr. 
Lydston  has  had  unusual  opportunities  in  the  study 
of  these  subjects,  including  access  to  police  records, 
and  the  private  and  public  photograph  galleries  of 
many  cities. 

The  work  is  liberally  illustrated  from  many  spe- 
cial photographs. 


J.   B.   LIPPINCOTT   COMPANY,    PHILADELPHIA 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


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